Self Preservation
by veggiebulma
Summary: The Avengers are having to deal with a new threat. Odin thinks that the one person that can help them is Loki. Director Nick Fury is angry, the Avengers are wary, Thor is happy and Loki just wants to make it out of this alive. Eventual BlackFrost.
1. Attack on Asgard

**Hey! I'm still alive! I know I have been away for some time but I'm still around. Currently I am in a Loki state of mind which is why I am posting this chapter. For those who follow me, do not fret. I have most of The Scorpion's sequel written up and ready for typing. My brain just wouldn't let me finish working on it until I wrote toward this. I hope you guys like it!**

Odin was wary. No, wary was a vast understatement. He sighed inwardly as he glanced to the horizon with his one good eye. It was irritating: this patch. He wished to be rid of it immediately. But that was not an option, not now. Deep down in his room lie the reason for his torment.

The real Odin. The all-father. HIS father.

When possible he shapeshifted back to his natural form as Loki, but that was when he was down in the chambers with his father where no one else could see. His father who lay in the great Odin-sleep and blissfully unaware of what was about to come.

Loki assumed that his father had fallen back into the Odin-sleep because of the loss of Frigga and, dare he say, himself. Odin had awakened early from his last Odin-sleep to settle Thor and Loki's squabble and then did not finish off his rest. Loki had seen his weariness when he was sentenced to that forsaken cell and even more so when he announced his own death disguised as some random guard. Loki had been looking for infinity stones or even the infinity gauntlet when he passed by his father's room. The loud thud had been ominous and Loki chose to sneak inside.

It was pitiful to see Odin on the floor sprawled out and in the Odin-sleep. Part of Loki wanted to leave him there. But he knew-knew that things could not go this way. Frigga was departed and supposedly so was himself, Thor was off on Midgard and if Odin were to fall ill….

Loki had shuddered at the thought of what would befall Asgard. After hoisting his father onto the bed, Loki shifted into his father's form and went to the throne room. He had to make the Asgardians believe he was his father for their own sakes. For his own sake.

Loki didn't care. Not in the slightest for any of the Asgardians who turned their back so quickly on him. Who worshipped his idiot brother when anyone with a brain could trip the lout up. No, it was simple preservation.

Loki eyed the sky again. He wished to warn the people but had no way of doing so. They would wonder how he knew and may become suspicious. He didn't need suspicion, he needed to have everyone believe him dead.

"What do your eyes see?" He stated as he realized Heimdall was behind him.

"Clear skies," Heimdall answered. A short pause followed by, "Thor continues to stay with the Midgardian."

Loki nodded, "It will pass."

It was midday and Loki had sent out his army for sparring activities. He commented on their overzealous celebrating of the aether had led them to grow large in their midsection and how that was unacceptable. Loki smirked at his scheme. 'The attack should come soon', he glanced at the sky, 'and they will be met with an army.'

He strolled back into the palace and began his rounds. He was trying to keep close to their defense, so that he may create the force field. It would not stop them but it would slow them down. He was on his way to grab some lunch when he felt the palace shake. Yells of soldiers reached his ears and he rushed to set up the defense. He drew his father's sword in case anything dared to cross his path.

As the force field went up, Loki looked out to see what to expect. His warriors were fighting below inside the force field. Outside the force field was a large Chitaurian ship which had hundreds making their way down to Asgard soil.

"Had to be Chitauri…." Loki frowned. He headed for the throne room in hopes he would not have to fight. Loki, in his own right, could take on these foes but it was something else to fight as someone else especially when he didn't possess his father's Odin Force. None the less, Loki took out five of the Chitauri on his way to the throne room. He didn't hardly look at them, just slashed them down their front.

In the throne room was a much larger Chitauri, a leader, Loki presumed. He raised his sword as did the Chitauri.

"Why have you come?" Loki questioned as Odin would have.

"Your time has ended," the Chitauri growled.

"Has it now?" Loki leapt forward and sliced. He was nearly cut by the Chitauri's sword as he was not able to move as quickly in this form. Silently he cursed his father's larger frame. After a few more strikes, the Chitauri's head hit the ground.

Loki turned to look for more but saw nothing. Then he felt a twinge. His eyes widened as he recognized it as a magic alarm he had set to keep anyone from entering Odin's room. He raced down the halls and hoped it was an Asgardian.

The Large Chitauri broke the door down. It was definitely held in place by magic, maybe a past spell done by the late Asgardian Queen. He sniffed the air and grinned. Odin was near.

He pushed further back into the room and found a door into the back bedchamber. It was covered with magic as well. Stronger magic that made the Chitauri frown. He raised his battle ax and began to hack away at it.

Loki's senses were going haywire. Something was at the back bedchamber where Odin was sleeping. Finding Odin there was going to raise a lot of questions or worse: result in Odin's death. 'Or possibly mine' Loki winced. He flew into the room just as the large creature made it through the bedchamber door. Loki swore in Old Norse. It was too late to put up an illusion. The damage had been done. He just needed to kill the bastard before he was caught.

As soon as Loki crossed the threshold of the room he threw his hand back and the door became whole. It slammed shut which made the Chitauri look back at the Asgardian. The Chitauri jerked its head back to the sleeping Odin and then looked to the shape shifter.

Loki smirked and raised his sword, he was not going to let the creature out of this room alive. The Chitauri turned and raised its sword to the Odin deep in sleep. Loki leapt forward, stopping the blade with his own. He kicked the Chitauri back. The Chitauri raised its clawed hand and Loki quickly moved back. But again he was prevented from moving at his top speed. Odin's bulkier frame was much easier to catch and Loki winced at the pain coming from his left arm. Warm blood trickled down and he frowned. This Chitauri was powerful. More powerful than it should be.

The Chitauri rushed Loki and managed to pin him to the wall, its claws at his throat. "You know not what you deal with Asgardian!" The Chitauri growled out in its language.

Loki smirked and let the illusion fall, "oh, I think I do." He sent a power blast to the creature and found himself free to move around again. Claws were out again but Loki was now able to move in his own form, able to move much more quickly. The giant creature seemed to just be trying to pin him in one spot. A well placed claw swipe and kick made Loki fall against his father's bed, his sword falling on top of Odin creating a slight cut on the elder's arm.

"Anytime you wish to wake up father…." Loki muttered. The Chitauri towered over them both. Loki pushed himself to his feet and gripped the creature's head with both hands. He quickly snapped its neck. The creature, with its head turned sideways wobbled and then grabbed Loki by the face and sent him across the room. Loki hit the wall with a crash and fell to the ground. He groaned and then looked up to see the Chitauri heading for his father once more. He could feel blood falling down the sides of his face and was pretty sure that was what was getting into his right eye at the moment.

Loki drew his knife and attacked. The blade entered the back of the Chitaurian's skull just as the Chitauria was about to strike Odin. As it was, the creature was frozen in place, its sword still held high. Loki reached down for another knife while holding the other knife in place. If he were to strike another pertinent area then maybe this creature would stay down.

Loki stopped. His stomach had just screamed out in pain. He tried to gasp for air but the pain prevented him. A second later he could hear the sound of metal slicing, his body being pulled forward slightly to the Chitauri. Loki's grip loosened on the knife embedded in the Chitauri's skull. He watched the creature fall down, Loki's knife still stuck in its head.

In front of him was Odin, alive and awake. Odin, who was now wielding his own sword that was covered in blood. Loki's head began to spin as realization hit him: Odin had just run him through with the sword. Loki's hand shot to his bloodied stomach and he fell to his knees. He wanted to vomit. Everything was spinning and getting dark. Loki held his stomach, willing his magic to stop the bleeding. Willing it to keep him alive.

He could see Odin step forward. Then everything went black.

**Hopefully you liked my first chapter. I am going to work on the second one soonish, but I promised a friend I'd work on that sequel. **

**Review PLEASE!**


	2. Thanks for Popping In

**This story, I warn you, is meant for fun. Yes I have a plot but I am probably going to get sidetracked in the middle. Good stuff-don't worry. But if it gets obviously off track then someone kick me and I will get it back on track XD**

**Thank you Lewa Neor for reviewing so quickly! **

Tony was busy in his lab. By busy he meant watching Bruce toy with his little trinkets in the base floor of his R &amp; D department. And by watch he meant torment. Currently Tony had a paper casing of a straw and was holding it next to Bruce's ear. Bruce somehow had the patience of a saint in his human form which only egged Tony on more.

Bruce swatted the casing from Tony and smiled, "food?"

"Yeah, whatever greenie," Tony sighed and rose from his chair. "Jarvis, the usual from Pizza Hut."

"Of course, sir." The voice answered.

"Breadsticks?" Bruce ventured.

"Make that a double, Jarvis." Tony called as they entered the elevator. He pushed the button to get to the penthouse. He could use a drink. Tony had recently decimated all of his suits, which suddenly freed up a lot of his time. This was also why Bruce was making more frequent visits. Bruce kept him busy, between actually being productive in his green energy campaign to teasing the poor man.

"I know that look," Bruce ventured.

Tony looked at him and shrugged.

"You're thinking about creating suits again," Bruce stated.

"I'm merely wondering if you could eat a nuclear bomb without dying," Tony smirked.

"I'd probably just toss it at someone," Bruce frowned.

"I'll cover it with syrup or something," Tony sat down on the couch.

Bruce frowned and crossed his arms. "It wouldn't be a bad idea, you know."

"I've told Pepper and I've told you-I'm done." Tony turned on the TV.

"Just because you removed the danger from your chest," Bruce waved his hand where the arc reactor used to reside, "doesn't mean you don't need to have the suit. We could probably use it….in case anything goes wrong."

"I don't need a suit." Tony frowned.

At that moment the TV shut off and Tony felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. He glanced at Bruce who was staring straight behind Tony. Tony turned around, throwing an arm around the couch to get a good view of whatever Bruce was staring at.

Two men were standing behind him; two men who were dressed in golden armor that looked suspiciously like Thor's armor. The first was a regal looking man that had to be in his 60s with an eye patch over his right eye. The second was an extremely tall dark man with a golden helmet and bronze eyes. He was currently carrying something large on his shoulder, covered in what Tony could only assume to be a fur.

"Man of Iron?" The older man questioned.

Tony gave a short wave.

"We need to speak to your leader," The man told him.

Tony turned to look at Bruce who shrugged his shoulders, "Fury?" Tony looked back to both men but they said nothing.

"Better than Captain Spangles," Tony muttered. He pulled out his cell and dialed the number to reach Fury. At first he received no answer and rather than leave a voicemail he texted 'Emergency-pick up' and then dialed again.

"This better be important," Fury answered.

"I got two guys here looking for you," Tony told him as he stared at the two men. The taller one looked off in a direction and tilted his head as if listening.

"And that classifies as an emergency how?! Stark, I am up to my ass in trying to fix things down here!"

The taller man tapped the older man on the shoulder and whispered something.

Fury continued his rant, "If it's such an emergency then go build you a suit and take care of it, I don't have time to pop in there everytime-"

The older man waved his hand and Nick Fury appeared in front of them. "-you….." Director Fury blinked as he realized he was in a completely different place than he was moments before. He looked around and Tony waved with his cell phone.

"Thanks for popping in," Tony managed.

Director Fury turned to the two men. "Are you the leader of the so called 'Avengers'?" The white haired man asked.

"Who wants to know?" Fury eyed the two men. He pocketed his cell phone but left his hand at his side so that he could reach his gun if needed.

"I am Odin, the all-father and King of Asgard," Odin responded.

"Thor's Daddy," Tony nodded, that explained the armor.

"And you wished to speak to me?" Fury questioned. "Why not your son?"

"To find my son would be to make my presence known in this realm and I do not wish to do that. You will contact him after I have left to make sure that things go accordingly," Odin stated.

"What's so important that the King of Asgard comes here?" Fury asked, not keen on being a messenger.

"Long ago a prophecy was made of the creature known as Thanos. A terrible monster that was exiled into a hell dimension so that he would suffer the rest of his life. The prophecy stated that one day the creature would escape and lay fury to all around him." Odin paused. "The attack on Asgard today is testament that this prophecy is coming true."

"Attack?" Bruce blinked. "I would think that no one would be dumb enough to do that."

Odin tilted his head, "Asgard contains the other realms so that peace can be achieved. We generally do not receive an attack on our own soil. The attackers were imbued with strength uncommon to them and it is my belief that they will attack Midgard soon."  
"Why here?" Fury tilted his head. "Didn't we get enough aliens last time?"  
"It is believed that Thanos will emerge from the Hell dimension into Midgard. He will want his passing to run smoothly," Odin was growing weary of having to explain this to the mortal.

"So, you're here to warn us?" Tony tried.

"I bring help," Odin told him. "Thanos' strength is well-known and is greater than mine and Thor's. His sorcery is great as well and there are only two that outmatch him."

"I think those two just became our new best friends," Tony commented.

"The first is an Asgardian who will stay with me on Asgard and help to protect our own realm," Odin stated. "We wish not to move him so not to alert Thanos that we are aware to what he is up to. We must proceed with caution."

"And the second?" Fury frowned.

"The second," Odin sighed. "Is Loki, for whom which even Thanos is wary of."

"We've met," Fury bit out. "Sweet kid."

"I am pleased you think so," Odin smiled. Fury could barely contain a shiver, that smile reminded him of the God of Mischief himself. Odin nodded to Heimdall and the tall man took the fur over to the couch next to Tony. He placed it down so that the fur was underneath what was apparently a man. When he pulled back Tony was able to tell that underneath the blood and wounds was none other than Loki.

Director Fury stared at Loki's bloody body. "He's supposed to be dead."

"Loki has decided to conceal his existence from others, which may prove to be to our advantage." Odin continued. "Loki will stay here to attack Thanos whenever he first emerges."

"Here?" Fury nearly yelled. "Oh, I'm sorry but maybe you weren't aware that he is not exactly welcome in this 'realm'!"

Odin raised his brows and pursed his lips. "Loki has made up for his previous mistakes by protecting Asgard and preparing a counterattack. He will stay here."

"I refuse-"

"You refuse?" Odin cut in. "Do you think you have the power to refuse me?" Odin began to step toward Fury.

"Let me guess," Fury raised his head so he looked down on the king. "We're nothing but a bunch of ants to you."

Odin shook his head, "no… An ant would be a compliment."

"My lord," Heimdall cut in. Odin looked back to him. "We haven't much time."

"Ah, yes." Odin nodded. He walked away from Fury without a second glance and walked up to his son. "Heimdall, you will alert me the moment that my son awakens?"

"Yes, m'lord." Heimdall nodded.

Odin looked over to Fury who was glaring at him, "Or if anything should happen to him?"

"Yes, m'lord," Heimdall narrowed his eyes at the Director.

Odin pushed aside one of Loki's raven locks that had made it into his face. Loki's color was off but better than before. Before his tone had a blue hint to it and he had become cold. Odin would have thought him dead if he had never dealt with frost giants before. He looked at Loki's closed eyes and remembered the look that Loki had given him.

Odin had awoken to find a creature above his bed ready to strike. He had grabbed his sword and struck. Only after had he realized his son had been behind the creature. His son who had looked at him in confusion, and then betrayal. Odin had been aware of all that was happening around him, a gift of the Odin sleep, and knew that as much as Loki challenged him and claimed to hate him that it was a façade. Odin only hoped that this did not change it.

"M'lord?" Heimdall called.

Odin straightened up back into the stance of a king and turned. "It is time?"

"Yes, my lord." Heimdall nodded. "The Fury?"

Odin paused, "oh yes." He looked over to Fury and waved his hand and Fury was gone. Odin put his hand on Heimdall and then paused. "Man of Iron?"

Tony jerked his head up from looking at Loki, "huh?"

"Please relay to Loki that 'I did not see him'." Odin told him and then a moment later they were both gone.

Tony stared at where they were and then glanced down at Loki. Mostly dried blood ran along the edges of his face. There was a trail of dried blood that had gone over his eyebrow into his eye implying that Loki had been standing for some time after that particular cut. The blood around the face seemed to stem from four large wounds, as if a claw machine had grabbed him.

Tony remembered how the Chitauri were when they attacked and assumed that whatever had attacked had to be quite as vicious. He looked down and saw glistening on Loki's leather around his midsection. On closer inspection he saw that Loki's left arm had what looked like a tiger clawing all the way from his shoulder to his forearm.

"I'M ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL!" Tony jerked and fell off the couch as his cell phone went off. He looked over to Bruce who was clutching his heart and was taking deep breaths.

Tony grabbed the cell, "yeah?"

"Romanoff and Barton are coming to you!" Fury's voice sounded.

"Jesus, you scared the shit out of me!" Tony breathed heavily and looked at Bruce was taking more even breaths.

"I scared you? Oh, I'm sorry but I'm suddenly on a different continent without a good explanation." Fury yelled. "I explained the situation to Romanoff. They should be there in an hour. Luckily they weren't that far out."  
"What about Thor?" Tony asked.

"Get him there. Patches made it clear we need to be discreet about this so I would suggest talking to Jane. She's not exactly fond of me or Coulson." Fury told him.

"You did steal her research," Tony picked himself up off the floor. He noted that the God had yet to move. Tony paused. He stared at the god and waited for his chest to rise. "So what happens if Loki dies?"

"I'm assuming Patches is going to give me the boot," Fury growled.

Tony edged closer and was able to make out slight movements of the god's chest. "He's not exactly breathing well."

"Not my fault," Fury stated. "Romanoff is going to keep Barton in line so that the dumbass isn't killed but that's all I'm offering." The line went silent and Tony sighed.

Bruce watched as Tony dialed a number from his phone. He glanced over to Loki and made his way over. He could hear Tony talking to Jane behind him. Bruce frowned. Loki was a mess. Blood was everywhere.

"Look, I can't tell you exactly what's going on. Just get Thor here when you can but don't let him know something is up…Trust me-he will be happy…it's an Avengers thing…..yes like a surprise party…..then bring them-I don't care." Tony ended the call.

"Tony?" Bruce frowned.

"What?" Tony looked over to Bruce.

"He's really hurt."

"Your point?" Tony sighed.

"I smashed him into the floor repeatedly, and he wasn't anywhere near this condition," Bruce told him.

Tony looked back over to the god, "what the hell are we up against?"

**As always, reviews make me happy and more likely to post chapters!**


	3. Waking Up

**I am definitely enjoying writing this. Can you tell? Yes, this is three chapters in three freaking days! Strange thing is i'm actually being productive with school work and stuff. Yay to me!**

Tense did not even describe the feeling of the car right now. Natasha half expected Clint to push her out of the driver's seat and speed the rest of the way to Stark tower. He was currently gripping an arrow and glaring out the windshield toward their destination. Every so often glancing at her speedometer.

Natasha had been contemplating driving to Stark towers when Director Fury had called her, they were only 45 minutes away. Fury's yell of 'where are you?' had definitely gotten her attention. There was no explanation as to why she was to protect Loki of all people but she knew it was her job. The same could not be said for Clint. Natasha was pretty sure that arrow was the one Clint wanted to put through the god's eye.

"How much longer?" Clint ground out.

"Twenty minutes," she answered. She hoped the traffic wouldn't be bad considering the late hour.

* * *

Tony was beginning to wonder what would get to his tower faster: pizza or agents. His answer came in the form of an elevator ding.

Natasha nodded as she stepped out and was followed by Clint carrying several pizza boxes. "We gave him a $20 tip."

"Why?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Because you can afford it," she smirked. She looked over to see Clint looking at the couch. She followed his gaze to see Loki. "Did you…." She glanced at Bruce.

"Not me, he was like that when he got here," Bruce held his hands up.

"Fury told me that I'm to protect him," Natasha told them. She raised a brow.

"So, Thor's daddy," Tony began, "pops in," he gestured behind the couch, "told us that something is coming to destroy us all and tossed reindeer games onto the couch."

Natasha blinked and then looked at Bruce.

"He threatened Director Fury a bit too." Bruce crossed his arms. "Made it clear that Loki should stay safe and hidden so that he can help us take out the….Thanos?..." he looked back to Tony who nodded. "Because Loki has greater magic or something."

"Why's he all beaten up?" Clint asked.

"Apparently something attacked Asgard and he saved them," Bruce replied.

"Why?" Natasha asked.

"Probably to save his own ass," Clint answered.

Tony spoke up, "Dude with the eyepatch said the attack was part of the big bad."

"Have you disarmed him?" Natasha asked.

Tony and Bruce looked at each other.

"I don't think you want me that close to him," Bruce said.

"Last time he threw me out a window, don't think it would be much better this time," Tony went to pour himself a scotch. "Plus he doesn't have his spear."

Natasha headed for Loki and immediately noticed a cloth poking out of Loki's cloak. She pulled it out and unwrapped a knife. She eyed it and touched the edge to see how sharp. She placed the cloth onto the floor and put the knife on top of it. She reached into Loki's cloak and began pulling more knives out, setting them all on top of the cloth.

Clint eyed the knives and jerked his head when Tony pulled open the top pizza box that he was holding.

Natasha began to pat Loki down. She paused when her hand touched gnarled flesh on his left arm. She wiped her hand off on his leather cloak and continued. Her hand passed by the bloodied spot on Loki's abdomen and he grunted. Natasha's eyes darted up to see that Loki was still out cold and Tony had to catch the pizza boxes because Clint had pulled out his gun.

"He's out. Put it down." Natasha ordered. Clint slowly lowered his weapon.

On his waist, Natasha found a small leather bag. She pulled it off his belt and tossed it with the other items. She found two other knives in his boots. "I think that's it."

"What now?" Bruce asked.

"Thor won't be here until tomorrow," Tony shrugged. "Pizza and movies?"

* * *

Natasha was leaning against the couch watching a rerun of Buffy on the television. She would occasionally look back at the god who was still unconscious even though the sun had risen over an hour ago. The other men were across the room at the bar. Clint had taken over the bartender's stool so that he could watch for Loki when he awakened. He was currently playing cards with Tony while Bruce was passed out next to them.

Natasha popped her neck and glanced back at the god. She furrowed her brow when she saw his lashes moving. She raised up slightly and saw that he was not awake but was trying to regain consciousness. Natasha looked over to see Clint was in the middle of beating Tony at whatever game and thought better of yelling over to them. No sense in startling them or Loki.

Loki's eyes fluttered open and Natasha could see that they were unfocused and staring at the ceiling. He closed them again. He opened them and stared upward. Loki continued to stare at the ceiling for several moments before his brow furrowed. He blinked and then turned his head and looked straight at Natasha.

Natasha, unsure of what would seem less of a threat, smiled at him.

He stared back at her with green eyes. She was sure they had been blue before. The way Loki had stared her down in that heli-carrier, it wasn't something one forgot. But the eyes staring straight at her were definitely green.

Loki turned back to look at the ceiling. After a few seconds he started to lift his left arm but winced and decided against it. Loki took a deep breath, in frustration Natasha would assume, and started to sit up. As soon as he began to bend, Loki fell backward and clenched his teeth. Natasha glanced over to the three men at the bar and nearly rolled her eyes. Good thing she wasn't relying on them to save her from the God of Mischief.

After a minute, Loki pushed his right arm behind him and used it to push himself up into sitting position. His loud grunt finally alerting the others that he was awake.

"You should probably lay back down," Natasha told him.

Loki breathed in and glared at her. He felt weak. Fear prickled in him making him worry that he had suffered Thor's fate; that Odin had exiled him to Midgard powerless.

"You need to rest," Natasha told him.

"You think me defenseless?" Loki tilted his head in question.

"I think you're hurt." Natasha stated.

"This is nothing for a god," Loki lied.

Natasha frowned, "is that why you've been unconscious for the last day?"

Loki narrowed his eyes at her, "If I've been unconscious that long then why not end me?"

Natasha raised a brow and dared to look away from Loki. Tony was on his feet, Clint had a gun pointed at the god's head and Bruce was still asleep. "Does he know what's going on?"  
Tony glanced around him, "do we know what's going on?"

Natasha sighed and looked back into the now curious green eyes. "Your father was here. He dropped you off and said that you were going to help us get rid of a big threat."

Loki stared at her, "did Odin happen to mention _why_ I would help?"

"He did," Tony snapped his fingers. "He said you were the only one strong enough to defeat Than-yos."

Loki turned his head at that, staring at Tony until he began chuckling. "I think Odin has become senile." He told them. "I may be more magically adept, but Thanos knows how to compensate for that."

"Than-yos doesn't know you're alive," Tony told him. "Patchy thought that you could be our ace in the hole to get rid of him."

Loki stared at him, "you might not want to let him hear you call him that." He sighed. His mind was working slower at the moment, mostly due to the pain that was in his abdomen. He did have to admit it sounded like a good plan. The monster, which was sleeping on the counter, with the help of his idiot brother may give Thanos some trouble. Enough to distract anyway. If Thanos didn't know he was alive then he might be able to find a way to shove him back through that portal. It sounded better than skirting around the 9 realms during Thanos' rule anyway.

Natasha eyed Loki. She could see thoughts buzzing around him. She hoped that it was one in which he would help, because she didn't want to explain how she couldn't keep Clint from shooting Loki.

"What else did Odin tell you?" Loki asked as he stared ahead, concentrating on his thoughts. Maybe the old man had an idea of how to take down Thanos.

Tony paused, "when he left he said to tell you…that he didn't see you…whatever that means."

Loki turned to look at Tony, searching the man's face. Tony evidently had no idea as to what he was referring to. Loki turned back around and stared ahead of him. 'Odin could have easily lied', Loki reasoned. 'Maybe he really did finally get fed up with his little frost giant runt'.

Loki decided it was something to think on later when he wasn't surrounded by people who could probably kick his ass at the moment. He looked around at the few Avengers, "so, what's the plan?"

* * *

Loki splashed the water onto his hair in attempt to retain his dark locks. He really needed to bathe but that could wait until after breakfast. He eyed the marks around his face. At the moment his magic was focused on his abdomen, a wound that would have killed a normal Asgardian. The wound was taking up most of his magical energy which is why he felt so weak. He could feel some leftover magical energy in him but he decided he would hold onto it for as long as possible. If needed, he could send an energy blast and scurry off before any of them were the wiser.

He opened the door to the bathroom, or so Natasha had called it, and greeted the red haired woman. She kicked off the wall and they headed back toward the others. From what Loki gathered, Barton was not trusted to be alone with him or else an arrow end up in his anatomy, the man of iron seemed wary without his suit and Bruce was still asleep. Loki didn't feel up to annoying the man and Natasha seemed willing to show him around the 'tower'.

As soon as they entered the room he was pleased to smell food. Bruce was rubbing his eyes with a steaming glass of brown liquid, coffee-if he remembered correctly, while Clint was playing with an arrow. Tony was busy tossing food onto several plates.

Loki sat in front of a plate at the end of the counter and eyed the food. It was nearly impossible to poison him but he was in an already diminished state.

Bruce eyed the god and misunderstood the hesitation, "yellow stuff is scrambled eggs. That's bacon. That's hashbrowns. And that's toast-bread that's been heated."

Loki wondered if he thought he was as dumb as his brother. He nodded to the man instead. No sense in angering someone you currently couldn't outrun. He sniffed the liquid in the glass next to his plate. "Juice?"

Bruce nodded, "cherry?"

Loki shrugged and downed it. As soon as he finished it he placed it back down on the counter.

"At least he's got manners," Tony quipped. He poured Loki another glass.

Loki raised an eyebrow and looked to Natasha on his left who simply ate her bacon.

"TONY!"

Immediately Tony looked up in a panic. Loki continued to eat his food. It was interesting to watch a female scream at a male that was not him.

"Pepper!" Tony smiled and darted a glance to Loki.

"You had a meeting! Then you were supposed to come see me so you'd sign these." Pepper came into view holding a stack of papers. "Now I have Rhodey calling me every ten seconds because you won't answer your phone."

Tony closed his eyes, "the meeting with Rhodey."

"And his bosses." Pepper slammed the stack of papers next to Loki without glancing at him.

"Something very important came up," Tony told her.

"Something always comes up," Pepper frowned. "But this is your job."

Loki noticed some sort of round food in a box on top of the paperwork. He wasn't really sure what it was but it smelled sweet which was good enough for him.

"Pepper, I am sorry." Tony told her. "And I will call Rhodey in just a minute."

"You still have that meeting at 2 with Henry about the green energy project," she reported. She smacked Loki's hand away from the donuts. "You cannot miss that appointment."

Tony stared at her wide-eyed. "You're absolutely right."

"Especially seeing as you showed up late last time." Pepper continued. Loki gave her a dirty look.

Tony nodded, "you're absolutely right."

"So, I am going to come get your ass in..a….few…" Pepper stared at Tony's wide eyed expression as it dawned on her. She blinked and then looked down at Loki who was snagging one of the donuts.

"You needed papers signed," Tony clapped his hands. "Or an omelet?"

Pepper stared at Loki and then turned to Tony, "something came up?"

"Yep."

"Do I need to be worrying right now? Because I'm worrying." Pepper glanced between the two.

"Loki is working with the Avengers."

"That's not helping."

Tony took the paperwork and led Pepper out of the room while starting to explain what had happened the day before.

"I assume that would be the lady of Iron?" Loki asked between bites.

* * *

Midgardians were squeamish, Loki concluded. Sure it had hurt like hell to remove his cloak and tunic but he wasn't turning green at the flesh. Bruce seemed ready to vomit from the moment the clothing was removed. Barton, on the other hand, seemed somewhat happy at Loki's state.

Bruce inspected the wounds first, making comments here and there. Mostly about how Loki was healing. Sometimes commenting on how the wounds would kill a mortal. He seemed quite distressed at the fact that he could see Loki's spine. Even more so that it had been nicked. Loki shrugged it off, his spine would heal soon and he'd be no worse for wear.

After inspecting the wounds, Bruce used a primitive needle and thread to close them up. Something Loki allowed him to do merely because his magic was too low focusing on the major wounds to be bothered on closing them up.

"When will Thor be here?" Loki asked after a long silence.

Bruce looked up somewhat surprised.

"I assume he's heading this way," Loki frowned.

"He'll be here later today," Bruce told him. "We haven't told him that you're here though."

Loki frowned, he was not exactly looking forward to seeing his brother.

"Missing your big bro?" Clint scoffed.

"Just curious as to his response for leaving me for dead on a random planet," Loki responded. He could have lied easily about why he was angry with Thor but the truth brought Thor down a bit. He wasn't the hero that they thought he was.

"Maybe it was because you tried to kill everyone," Clint smiled.

"Last time I save his life," Loki muttered. He stood up off of the table Bruce had him sitting on and was pleased to see shock on their faces. He turned on his heel and left the lab.

**I know that Loki has many reasons to dislike Thor but that one is on the top of his list at the moment. It will be explained more in the next chapter...or two...i'll get to it, i swear! Reviews make me happy!**


	4. Welcome Home Brother

**And this is four glorious days with four freaking posts. I am having so much fun with this! hopefully I don't forget my laptop over the weekend XD**

**Thank you aa826 for reviewing. *Hands over a Loki shaped chocolate***

This was not good. Loki tried to take a deep breath but found it hard to do. The air seemed so thick and hot in the bathroom. The shower water that was running was supposedly set on cold but it felt warm to him.

Loki gripped the shower wall with his right hand, his left arm left dangling at his side. The less he used it, the quicker it would heal. He looked down and inspected his body for even the slightest tint of blue. He had changed into that creature when he had held the casket and when 'they' had touched him. But he feared that in his weakened state he may start to revert back. He tried to tell himself that he wouldn't, that he was jumping to conclusions but the water felt nearly blistering to him. _I need sleep._

Loki had learned how to change form when he was a child. Making his nose larger or smaller and then gradually to where he looked like a different person. But he was able to switch back to his normal form with ease. It was his natural state.

Loki's nails dug into the wall as he thought of his truly natural state. He had no idea what kept him in his Asgardian form. He never would have known that it wasn't his original form if that damned frost giant hadn't grabbed him. _Maybe because my magic is weakened. _Loki sighed. He could feel his spine starting to fix itself which was painful, but needed. This was taking even more of his magic leaving him with very little left over. _Or I'm dying._

Loki shut off the shower and stepped out onto the rug. He carefully patted the water off of him so not to aggravate his wounds. Upon inspection in the mirror, Loki found himself to look paler but definitely not blue. He looked down at his clothes which were smelly from sweat and blood. He tied the towel around his waist and headed out into the room Pepper had designated as his.

The room held a bed facing a 'TV' which Loki was somewhat excited about. He had only briefly noticed TVs when he was on Midgard before and had no time to toy with them. On a desk near the curtained window was some cloth. Loki made his way over to it and noted that it was pants of some black material. He pulled them on to find that they were loose in his midsection. He pulled the strings and the waistband tightened.

Next to the clothing was bandages which Loki applied onto his wounds, using some of his magic. He laid back on the bed, contemplating staying there for the rest of the day. Loki knew that if he did then Thor would randomly burst into the room and do something stupid. Like hug him.

* * *

Loki was happy to find his way so quickly back into the penthouse. He didn't really feel like wandering around continuously. He noticed that Tony and Pepper were in the kitchen.

Pepper glanced his way, "Clint's gone to find you a shirt."

Loki nodded.

"I thought you were supposed to be scrawny," Natasha's voice came from behind him.

Loki turned to look at her, "compared to Thor, most things are."

Natasha nodded, "true." She held out some sort of brown circle. "Reese's?"

Loki raised a brow. He was honestly hungry as hell. Their breakfast was measly by Asgardian standards. He took the food and popped it into his mouth. Immediately he reached up and grabbed whatever was sailing at his head.

"You shouldn't take things from Nat. Might be poisoned," Clint smirked.

Loki looked down at what Clint had thrown at his head and found more cloth, presumably a tunic. "You can't poison me."

"I'll take that as a challenge." Clint grinned.

Loki smirked, "try it."

"Asgardians can't be poisoned?" Natasha asked.

Loki frowned as he noticed a design on the tunic: a hammer with lightning coming out of it.

"Some can, some cannot," Loki said simply.

"If you don't like that shirt," Clint grinned. "I have a 'Hulk Smash' one too."

"You make tunics of your heroes?" Loki commented. "I'd love to have one of you."

Clint's smile vanished, "let's see how you fair against arsenic." He plopped down onto a chair.

"No poison," Natasha called after him.

"Nat?" Loki tried.

Natasha jerked her head around, "Natasha," she corrected.

"Tasha," Loki smirked. "Is there more nourishment around?" He pulled the shirt over his head with a little difficulty.

"Natasha," Natasha repeated. She raised a brow at Loki's t-shirt which now had a giant green 'X' over 'Thor's hammer'. "There's cookies in that cabinet." She noted how Loki seemed to perk up at cookies. "You have a sweet tooth, don't you?"

Loki shrugged and immediately went after the cookies. He took the container over to the couch and began looking around. Loki had noticed when he had undressed for the shower that he was missing his bag and all of his knives. He could easily replace knives but that bag….

Loki began checking all the creases in the couch that he had been laying on. He moved the fur but nothing. Eventually he got down on his knees and began feeling around underneath the couch.

Natasha watched uneasily. Unsure of where to put Loki's knives she had just stored them underneath the couch. She assumed the small curse Loki just let out meant that his hand had just found them.

Loki pulled the cloth out from underneath the couch and wiped his bloody finger on his pants. On the cloth with all of his knives was the bag which Loki immediately stuck into his pants pocket. He wrapped the knives back up and then pushed them back under the couch.

"What's in the bag?" Clint asked.

"Tricks," Loki smirked. His usual answer when asked that question.

"So, that's the legendary 'bag of tricks'." Natasha sat down on the couch.

Loki eyed her, curious to how she knew of it. He wondered if Thor had mentioned it. He shrugged it off and headed to his room to put the bag away.

Loki had almost made it to the hall leading to the stairs when the elevator dinged. Almost immediately the room was filled with his brother's thunderous voice, "I wish to try it!"

"Slow down there cowboy," the dark haired female told him. "Disney World is not ready for…this." She gestured at Thor.

Loki had stopped dead and waited. He could run. He seriously thought about it. But that might lead to a tackling hug that Thor was wont to do whenever he ran. The brunette went to the cabinets by the bar immediately. Selvig put down some suitcases by the elevator and popped his back. Jane was holding a suitcase in one hand and a rectangular device in her other hand which she was staring at.

"Lady Natasha!" Thor went over to give her a hug, much to the woman's dismay.

Jane set down the suitcase and then put the rectangle in her pocket. She glanced up at Loki and then stopped. Loki immediately regretted not running. But she had seen him so he just stared her down.

The amount of colors her face was changing was actually pretty funny. The Midgardian apparently couldn't stay focused on any one emotion long enough to create words. Loki wondered how long it might last.

"You son of a bitch!"

Apparently not that long.

Jane stomped her way to the god, "you died! I swear to god, you died! You let us believe you were dead! How could you? Have you even a single shred of …of…decency in your thick skull. You made Thor cry! You made me cry! Why?!"

Loki opened his mouth to make a comment on Thor crying but was cut off with Jane's slap. He chuckled and grinned, "I missed you too, Jane."

Jane looked about ready to slap him a second time.

"Brother?" Loki looked up to see Thor staring at him in shock.

"Thor," Loki said evenly. If he had the magical capability at that particular moment, Loki would have made a double and ran like hell. But sadly that required more magic than he was willing to spare at the moment.

"Brother!" Thor came forward and Loki tensed. Immediately Loki felt the tree trunks that were his brother's arms encircle him. He frowned and look past the arms to see Jane's death glare. Loki was suddenly pushed back and Thor held his upper arms making Loki wince. "I thought you dead!"

"Is that why you chose to leave me on some deserted planet?" Loki growled.

Thor stared at him, "you were not breathing brother. You had gotten cold and….discolored."

Loki looked at him confused. After a moment in dawned on him: frost giants. He had been gravely injured on that damned planet and had thought himself dead when he had passed out. Maybe he did revert back to his 'natural state' whenever he was gravely wounded. "Cold as ice?" Loki asked and then stared down the brute.

Thor looked at him confused. It was pitiful to Loki, watching the man have a thought. "I did not realize…" Thor shook his head. "But you are alright!" He gripped Loki by the head and pulled them together so their foreheads touched. "You are alright!"

"More or less," Loki muttered. Thor chuckled and pulled him into another hug. A much tighter hug which made several of Loki's bones pop. Loki grunted with pain and Thor released him.

"Brother, you are hurt," Thor steadied the slightly wobbly Loki.

"I am fine," Loki grimaced. "Just stop touching me."

"Why do you not use your magic to heal yourself?" Thor began to look Loki over. "Has father taken it away?"

"Odin-"  
"Father"

"-has not." Loki ground out.

"Then why?" Thor frowned. Loki glared at him. "Are you that gravely injured?"

"I will heal in a few days, no need to-" Loki was cut off as Thor pushed him to the couch.

"You need rest. You are weak," Thor darted off and returned with bread.

Loki pushed it away, "I am perfectly capable-"  
"Then, why not use your magic?" Thor asked more forcibly.

Loki looked up at him and stared into the idiot's eyes.

"You are low on magic," Thor frowned.

Loki pushed Thor out of the way and stood, "it will return quickly. Until then we have bigger issues to discuss."  
"What had led to this?" Thor asked.

"There was an attack on Asgard yesterday," Loki told him. "Do you remember Thanos?"

"A child's story mother told us so we'd stop sneaking out at night," Thor frowned.

"It comes from a real prophecy, one in which Thanos comes back from Hell to devour all 9 realms," Loki crossed his arms. "He led the attack on Asgard."  
"How do you know? Father told you?" Thor demanded.

"Actually I told him," Loki frowned. _While he was sleeping._

"Father made no mention of this last time I visited," Thor frowned.

Loki gave a half smile, "That's probably because you didn't speak to him."

"What do you-" Thor stared at him, "what did you do?"

"He fell into the great Odin sleep, what was I supposed to do?"

"Not RULE ASGARD!"

"You didn't want it!"

"That-that's not the point!"

"You left!" Loki ground out. "Mother is dead and by all accounts I was dead too."

Thor looked murderous.

"If it became known that Father had fallen ill as well then Asgard would have been attacked by more than just Chitauri," Loki told him.

"_Father_?" Thor honed in on Loki's slip. He frowned when Loki gave no answer and then asked, "Chitauri?"

"Chitauri is Thanos' army," Loki explained.

"I thought it was your army," Thor frowned.

"Did you ever stop to think where I went to when I was gone?" Loki asked angrily. "Heimdall couldn't find me, if he even bothered to look."

"He looked, we all did." Thor told him.

"Thanos is real," Loki said. "And it was through him that I was able to escape that Hell."

Thor fell silent. He had never thought that Loki was living in a Hell dimension. "He helped you escape?"

Loki nodded, "with my powers and his combined I was able to jump out of Hell itself."

"Why would he help you?" Thor asked.

"Because I was helping him," Loki replied. "I was to remove any obstacle of his coming to Midgard. Kill them, weaken them, rule them-it didn't matter."

"You put Earth into chaos to save your sorry ass?" Clint asked.

"One does tire of getting to see their spine from the gaping hole in their front," Loki bit out. "Yes, I let the creature 'help' me. A spell that made our powers one temporarily while controlling me." Loki pointed to his temple. "I don't like being controlled that much, which he found out once I had escaped."

"Why not use this spell on himself?" Natasha asked.

"He's cursed to stay and I wasn't," Loki said simply.

"So," Clint spoke, "exactly what prevents you from betraying all of us and running back to your master?"

Loki grimaced at 'master,' "If you will recall, I failed that particular mission. And I am now to 'long for something so sweet as pain.'"

"You will help us?" Thor asked.

"Looks like," Loki sighed. "My knife will find my own throat before I am forced to live in Thanos' nine realms."

**Can you sense the brotherly love between them. Imagine being brothers for 1000 years. Ooh this is going to be fun to write. **


	5. Concealment

**You guys are lucky that I am obsessed. 2nd chapter in a freaking day-I seriously need coffee. **

First thing Thor did was make sure that Loki was fed to the fullest extent. He knew that Midgardians ate much less that the average Asgardian and Loki loved to eat. Especially sweet foods. He smiled at the memory of Loki as a small child stealing a large cake from the kitchens. They had eaten it by the fistful, covering themselves with icing to the point that Mother had only laughed instead of punishing them.

Afterward Thor felt that he should show Loki the amazing things that Midgard had to offer. Starting with the TV. The other Avengers went along their business as the Asgardians sat on the couch and Thor showed him the remote. Pepper dragged Tony off to some meeting, Bruce went down to the lab, Darcy went to find a room, and Jane went to find Thor's room. Selvig, Clint and Natasha stayed behind. Clint and Selvig sat at the counter and watched the God of Mischief. Natasha seemed intrigued in what Thor was telling Loki but he had a feeling she may be there to watch Loki as well.

Thor was explaining the Bob that was a sponge when he looked over to see Loki asleep. He smiled and stood to find a blanket. He was able to find one down the hall and came back and put it on his brother. His little brother was weak whether or not he wanted to admit it. Loki could deal use some rest. When Thor sat back down, Loki slid and his head fell on Thor's shoulder. Thor suppressed a chuckle.

This was not the first time this had happened. Loki loved to stay up late at night which made him tired during their study hours. Sometimes, when they were younger, he'd fall asleep against Thor while studying a boring subject. The only thing missing here was some dusty old book in Loki's lap.

"He must be tired," Natasha commented.

"Yes," Thor nodded. "Must have been an amazing battle."

"He was unconscious till this morning," Natasha told him. "Pretty out of it."  
"Perhaps he's more injured than he wants to admit," Thor frowned. "The rest will do him good."

* * *

"Brother?" Thor prodded the sleeping Loki. "There is food."

Loki sleepily grabbed the blanket and pulled it over his head. "Go away!"

Thor poked his brother and then jumped backward to keep from being kicked. "Awaken!"

"NO!" Loki curled up into a ball, wincing at his back.

Thor grabbed the blanket and began to pull. "For once, can you just wake up?"

"Am I interrupting something?"

Thor looked over at Tony who was holding several bags of what was for dinner.

Loki let go of the blanket when he smelled food and pulled himself up, "breakfast?" Thor tossed the blanket aside.

"Dinner," Thor told him. "You haven't been asleep that long."

Loki rubbed his eye and stood to stretch. "If your explanations weren't so boring."

"My explanations are fine," Thor gruffly replied.

Natasha smirked at the two siblings as they grumbled at each other as they sat down. She sat down next to Loki and sent a warning glance to Clint who sat across from them.

"So," Natasha started. "Do we even know where to begin with Thanos?"

"Father will have a plan," Thor stated. "I will meet with him soon. If he is wishing to stay secret then I need to wait until he sends for me."

"Maybe he will come back," Bruce offered.

"Not likely," Thor frowned.

Loki smirked, "Midgardians annoy him."

"You should have seen how he reacted to Jane," Thor muttered.

"Oh, Mother told me," Loki smirked.

Thor sighed, "but to keep you secret he would probably limit who knows."

"Tall dark and scary knows," Tony offered. "Uh, Heimdall?"

"I assume he told Frey," Loki took a bite of his food.  
"He is a great sorcerer that could help Asgard," Thor elaborated to the rest of the group.

"And Fury probably told Coulson," Natasha told him.

"Fury knows?" Thor raised a brow. "I would think him to be here if he knew."  
"Patches popped him in and back out," Tony told him.

Thor blinked as he registered the comment, "I would not let Father hear you call him that."

"What can he hear me?" Tony looked around.

"Not with Loki's concealment spell in place," Thor told him.

Loki frowned, "Heimdall can hear you and see you for that matter."

"Not with the spell," Thor turned to look at Loki. "Or has he figured out past your spell?"

"He has not." Loki said simply.

Thor stared at him, "you have put the spell up, right brother?"

"At the moment, no one is looking for me," Loki began.

"Brother, were you hit on the head?" Thor slammed his drink down.

"And it begins," Loki sighed.

"You need to put that spell up immediately," Thor told him.

"You do it then," Loki glared.

"Are you that weak?" Thor did what he thought was a whisper.

"I am not weak," Loki growled. "Simply drained."

"Drained?" Thor frowned. "You were lying about being gravely injured."

"I would never lie to you," Loki told him.

"How much magic do you still possess?" Thor demanded.

"Enough," Loki said simply.

"Then do the spell," Thor waved his hand as if the conversation was over.

Loki grabbed Thor's ear and dragged him away from the table so he didn't have to say it in front of the Avengers, "I don't have much magic left. I have enough to heal these wounds and defend myself."

"You are amongst friends," Thor declared loudly and gestured to the group.

"_Your _friends. Barton has etched my name into that arrow with his fingernail," Loki told him.  
Thor looked over to Barton who indeed had an arrow under the table, "you did take over his mind."

"I can do the spell in a day or two," Loki told him. "Just not yet."

"How bad are the wounds?" Thor asked and began pulling at Loki's tunic.

Loki swatted his hand away, "they still need to heal."

"Let me see!" Thor demanded. Loki glared at him. "Can you at least tell me how bad?"

"A Chitauri clawed me down my arm," Loki gestured at his left arm. "And used my face to throw me across the room," He gestured at the claw marks which had shrunk. "And I was run in by a sword."

Thor frowned, "Let me see." Loki glared again. "You can either show me or I will overpower you and look anyway."

Loki sighed and removed the tunic, aware that the Avengers could hear much of their conversation because of his idiot brother's thunderous voice. Thor crouched down and removed the bandage.

"This has been healing for a day?" Thor asked, usually Loki healed much faster than this.

"Yes," Loki crossed his arms.

Thor noted that the blade had gone all the way through, "your spine has healed. You don't seem to be in immediate danger." He looked up. "You could use that magic to do the spell."

Loki frowned. "I still need to find the center of the place, and I need my book."

Thor raised an eyebrow, "Stark can tell you where the center is and you've done this spell too many times for me to believe you need the book."

Loki grumbled.

* * *

Bruce looked up when the door opened. In came Tony, Thor and Loki.

"You need more bandages?" Bruce asked noticing that Loki had removed his shirt and bandages on his midsection.

"This is the dead center?" Thor asked.

"Yep," Tony looked around. "Jarvis, where's the center?"

"Exactly 12 feet, 3 inches from the south wall." Came the reply.

Loki made his way over to the spot and sat on the ground Indian style.

"Should I go?" Bruce asked timidly.

"Loki is performing a concealment charm," Thor explained. "He will be done momentarily."

"Should he be doing that with his injuries?" Bruce asked.

"Probably not," Loki frowned as he closed his eyes. "But I apparently don't have a choice."

"Brother…" Thor warned.

"I think I might tell Jane about Amora," Loki smirked.

"She cares not about my past," Thor frowned.

"It is quite hilarious," Loki continued to smirk.

"Do the damn spell," Thor's cheeks were slightly red.

Loki rolled his head so that his neck popped a few times. He then concentrated on his task. The spell itself was simple enough, he just wasn't sure if he had the energy to do it. The fact that it was the Odin Sword that ran him through was making it difficult for him to heal. Most Asgardian swords had been imbued to cause much more damage.

Loki mouthed the words to the spell, his left hand clasping his right fist. He could feel the magic coursing through him to perform the spell. It unnerved him how little was there. Focusing all his magic on the task he felt cries of pain from his body but continued.

It felt like forever to pull it out of himself, to cover the entire building. Rarely did he cover an area so big. Generally it was himself he was concealing. He moved his hands outward from his body and placed his fingers on the ground, gripping the building itself.

"Wh-" Tony voiced but the sound was cut off. Assumingly by Thor who had learned many times before not to interrupt Loki during a spell.

Loki felt the last of the magic leave him and nearly collapsed. The spell had taken more than he had thought it would. He had managed to make the building appear to only have Tony, Bruce and Pepper in it and hide the extra additions. A safe measure for when Odin or other agents should arrive.

Loki took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Immediately he shut them again at the bright lights. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. He tried opening them again but still found the room too bright. He must have overdone it with the spell. He figured he could fix the side effect when he had more magic in him. Loki closed his eyes again to the offending light and stood.

He opened his eyes to glare at his idiot brother. The spell had made him overheated and made him feel sick to his stomach. "There it's done," he glared more at the idiot.

Thor stared at him, not moving or saying anything. Loki tilted his head in question. Thor asked, "when will your magic return?"

"I don't know," Loki bit out. "I've never been stupid enough to use ALL of it before." His eyes darted to Tony and Bruce who were being abnormally quiet.

Thor nodded. "So, maybe a few moments?"

Loki sighed, "I don't know." He rubbed his temple.

That's when he saw the blue. Loki froze and his eyes darted to where his right hand was supposed to be against his temple: blue. He pulled the hand further away: more blue. He looked down: blue. He looked up at Thor.

"I did not know…." Thor frowned. "But it is fine, brother."

Loki wanted to scream at him. Scream at him for what he had done and scream at him for daring to call him brother. At what point in their lives had it been more clear that they were not brothers?! He looked down and saw that the offending blue was still present. It had never lasted this long before. He swallowed against the lump in his throat and trying to quash the thoughts of him being stuck like this.

"As soon as your magic comes back," Thor stepped forward. He was cut off by Loki slamming his fist into his face. Thor pulled himself back around and Loki saw the darkened flesh of his cheek from being burnt by the ice.

Tony and Bruce looked at each other and then looked at the two siblings. When Loki had begun to turn blue, Tony had started to ask about it. Thor had elbowed him which nearly sent the billionaire flying. Loki was now standing in front of them obviously distressed about the fact his skin was blue with patterns, his eyes were red and may possibly have fangs.

Loki fell back to his previous stance, holding his head this time. He concentrated, begged and pleaded with his body to emit some form of magic and that maybe he could fix this. He wasn't sure what held his Asgardian appearance the way it was beforehand. He never had to worry about freezing someone's face off or his vision. He never had to concentrate to make sure his magic compensated for it. If it was mother's spell then he was unsure if he could replace it.

Loki took a deep breath and his skin prickled slightly. He opened his eyes to see that the light was no longer blinding and his skin was no longer blue.

* * *

Loki didn't bother to emerge from his room until the next day when he became really hungry. He had ended up putting on the 'Hulk Smash' shirt because Thor never gave him the other one back. He sighed and headed into the room. It was deserted thankfully. The Asgardian headed over and found some of those pastries that Pepper had yesterday.

"Started to wonder about ya," Natasha smirked when she saw the god jerk up from his donuts.

"The spell required more energy than previously thought," Loki answered simply to the woman who leaned next to him.

"Which is what Thor said," Natasha nodded. "But that spell doesn't protect from video cameras within the perimeter."

Loki tilted his head in question.

"Why'd you go all smurf?" Natasha asked as she took a donut.

"What is a smurf?" Loki asked confused.

"These blue guys on TV," Natasha answered simply. She noted that Loki stiffened slightly.

"Who all knows about it?" Loki frowned.

"Thor, you, Bruce, Tony and me," Natasha smiled. "After you darted off out of the lab, Thor threatened them."

Loki sighed and then narrowed his eyes at the woman, "do I need to threaten you, Tasha?"

Natasha pursed her lips at the pet name but didn't comment on it. She wanted to know. "Is that an Asgardian trait?"  
"Yes," Loki smirked. "Thor turns pink when he runs out of strength."  
"Explains why he doesn't talk about it," Natasha smirked. "With all that blond hair too."

Loki chuckled at the image. He looked around the empty room. "Where is everyone?"

Natasha frowned at the change in topic but assumed she could get the truth out of him later. "Selvig and Clint are out plotting your death at a diner down the street. Darcy is probably talking about Asgardian physique to Jane at a coffee place. Thor and Tony are talking to Director Fury down in the lab. I think Coulson's in his room trying to get a hold of Steve. And Bruce has run off somewhere."

Loki blinked, "did I not kill Coulson?"

"Yeah, I'd not mention that to him," Natasha told him. "Though if you could magically whip up a life size Steve for him he may forgive you."

Loki snickered. Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Barton mentioned a lot of things. When mentioning Coulson he mentioned the Captain as well."

"What did Clint say about me," Natasha asked innocently.

"Not to piss you off," Loki replied with a smirk.

"What else?" Natasha grinned.

Loki frowned, "he said many things."

Natasha frowned, "my past obviously."

"Obviously," Loki nodded and then grinned mischievously, "he mentioned that you are quite the spy." He poked one of her curls, "and that you'd do whatever you had to for information."

Natasha smirked back putting her hand on his abdomen, "did he mention that I only did those things if I felt like it? Otherwise I'd just wait until the last moment," she pressed against his wound, "to get me out of such situations."

Loki winced slightly. It hadn't hurt that much but he wanted to play along with the woman's game. "What do you feel like?"

Natasha's hand lingered on Loki's wound for a moment before poking it with two fingers making the god wince. She turned in a twirl of curls and headed for the couch. Loki raised an eyebrow and wondered how a Midgardian ended up with an ass like that.

**Hopefully I will be posting with as much ferocity as I have been the last couple of days. Eventually Loki will regain strength and start playing tricks/wreaking havoc/flirting etc**

**Review i beg of thee!**


	6. Conversation on the Rooftop

**Giant numero Uno: I actually did research on Loki because I am quite the obsessive fangirl. Loki is actually stronger than the average Asgardian but chooses to rely on his magic. I may post the link to Marvel's page where I got the information. Anyway, Loki is like impossible to kill. He's reattached limbs and his own damn head on occasion. The tales from Loki's childhood are of my own invention though. BUT Black widow's stuff is legit too. She is way stronger than Hawkeye. Seriously guys look them up it's freakin awesome.**

Natasha pulled out her phone and began playing a game on it. Her mind was going over Loki's and her conversation. The god in question was snooping around the cabinets to find food for his never ending appetite.

Natasha kept her ears out for the god but didn't turn around. Loki had dodged her question about his transformation in the lab. His reaction to finding himself in that form was one of complete distress, and she wanted to know why.

Also, apparently when the god was not occupied with threatening, killing or nearly dying, he was flirting. Natasha had caught the gleam in his eye when he toyed with her curl. Though she shouldn't be surprised. Natasha had looked up the folklore whenever she found out she was up against a god. She would have to ask him if he actually did have all those children.

Loki, with a box of pop-tarts, sat down next to the agent. He munched on one and looked over her shoulder to see what the strange rectangle was.

"You're going to get crumbs on me," Natasha told him.

"It is a game?" Loki questioned as he pulled back slightly.

Natasha looked at him. At least he didn't poke at it like Thor did. "This is a game." Natasha clicked off the game. "But it can do a lot more. There's music, games, you can call people," Natasha was flipping through her phone, "Send them messages," she texted Clint 'I'm teaching Loki the iphone'. "and get them back."

Almost as soon as she said that her phone vibrated. 'Why the hell would you do that?'

Natasha grinned, "and you can get on the internet…it's a source of information."

Loki nodded, "Selvig told me about it before. You can put questions in and it will answer you."

"You've used it before?" Natasha asked. But Loki shook his head. Natasha shrugged and pulled her game up. She was not about to let the god loose on the internet. Knowing him there would be death, destruction and possibly porn all over her phone.

Loki leaned back and stuffed the rest of a pop-tart in his mouth, then he moved his hands in front of him and a large tomb of a book appeared. Natasha eyed the large book and watched as Loki opened it up. He was apparently looking for something.

"This," Loki pointed to a creepy looking picture in the book, "is Thanos."

Natasha looked at the dark creature. It was black, muscular and was holding a weapon similar to a battle ax. "Looks promising."

Loki trailed a finger across the strange writing on the page. "Would your internet have Thanos in it?"

Natasha shrugged, "maybe." She realized that Loki was wanting her to look up the information. "I think Fury and Coulson are already looking into it. We should just wait to see what they find."

Loki nodded. What he needed was information on preventing that damned portal opening or cursing the bastard further down into Hell. He watched as Natasha turned the page.

"Is this Norse?" She asked.

"No," Loki answered. "One of the languages of the dark elves."

A ding announced the elevator and once again the room heard Thor's thunderous voice. "He is resting."

"I don't care what he's doing. Someone should be watching-" Fury paused as he saw Loki on the couch. "-him."

"She's got him," Tony pointed to Natasha and headed to the kitchen.

"I thought you were still healing," Fury put his hands in his pockets making his jacket pull back and reveal a gun that looked strangely like a smaller version of what Coulson had shot Loki with.

"Feeling better," Loki smiled purely to piss the agent off.

"I can see that," Fury frowned. "And performing magic from what I hear."

Loki glanced at Thor who was looking at him worriedly. His cheek was still blackened.

"Blame him," Loki waved absently to Thor. "It was his idea."

"I think I'll decide who to blame," Fury stared Loki down.

"It was a simple concealment," Thor explained. "Nothing bad."

"And how did you get that wound again?" Fury glared. "Because you must think me stupid to believe you got it attacking the toaster."

"It would not give me bread," Thor made his way to Loki.

Fury looked to Loki and Loki shrugged, "I was not present for this 'toaster' but I do not doubt my brother's stupidity."

"Right," Fury shook his head and made his way over near the window. Thor took the opportunity to place a hand on Loki's shoulder and whisper, "are you alright, brother?"

Loki jerked his shoulder out of Thor's grip and refused to speak to him.

"Brother," Thor began but Loki stood and went to put the pop-tarts away. Natasha frowned at the two. Last night they were getting along well enough. She assumed it was about Loki going all smurf.

"Just so we don't get off on the wrong foot," Fury eyed the god who put the pop-tarts on the counter, "we've been busy since you last stopped by. We have more means of taking down this big bad," he eyed Loki, "or any other bad that gets in our way."

"You haven't seen 'bad.'" Loki told him and shortened the distance between the two of them.

Fury took a step toward the god, "Are you threatening me?"

Loki opened his mouth but was jerked back by his left arm. He looked back to see Thor holding onto him, "your arm is probably healed."

Loki glared at him. He sent a glare in Fury's direction but allowed for Thor to take the bandage off. He knew Thor was just trying to distract him so that he didn't end up throwing Fury out that blasted window. Thor stopped unwrapping the bandage at Loki's forearm so that he could inspect the damage. What had been deep slashes were now tiny lines of scabs down his arm.

Tony noted the pop-tarts on the counter, "what is it with you guys and pop-tarts?" He stuffed it back in the cabinet.

Fury ignored Tony and glared at the two brothers. The darkened left cheek of Thor's caught his attention once more. "If you immortals can heal so well, do you want to explain to me how a toaster has managed to leave a mark like that?"

Thor frowned, "I tried to make the toaster work quicker by-" he wriggled his fingers a bit.

"It seems quite coincidental that you get burned when the God of Mischief is around," Fury frowned.

"Loki had no magic when I received the shock last night," Thor frowned. Fury scoffed.

"You obviously do not know Thor very well," Loki said simply. "He used to burn himself continuously as a child. To the point Mother threatened to take Mjolnir away."

Thor pulled the remainder of the bandages away. He wasn't sure what Loki was up to but he knew that Loki would follow the story to keep himself out of trouble. Though why Loki had to tell this particular story from their childhood was beyond him.

"Instead of handling the hammer better, he just ended up not telling mother when he burned his fingers," Loki reached up to Thor's cheek and sent some of his newly acquired magic energy into it. "Which meant I had to deal with Thor's stupidity." Loki pulled his hand away and all that was left was a red mark. Loki glared at Thor, "attempt to not be so stupid."

"Thank you, brother." Thor told him.

Loki rolled his eyes.

Fury eyed the wound and then the God of Mischief, "exactly what all can you do?"

Loki smirked at him, "you'd be surprised." But offered no further explanation.

* * *

Natasha grunted as she blocked Clint's attack. He was bigger than her, but not stronger. They were sparring in Tony's new gym that he had built specifically for the Avengers. Clint had spent the beginning of the evening shooting arrows at a drawing that was obviously Loki. Natasha had taken up her time doing stances and practicing moves.

Now they were getting pretty into their sparring session. Hawkeye knew not to hold back and Natasha could be a lot rougher with him than any other agent she had come up against.

Tonight Clint was fighting harder and dirtier. He was trying his best to trip her up and Natasha knew it was because he was thinking about attacking Loki. She matched him, deflecting each one of his blows and occasionally sending him over her shoulder. He always landed on his feet though, always with another blow ready for her.

Eventually they would call it quits. Sweat would get into their eyes or they found it too tedious after several hours. Tonight it took longer. Though they were left with that feeling of dissatisfaction. After fighting an enemy there was a surge of adrenaline: a climatic end to their night. But sparring left them wanting to finish things.

When this would happen, like it did tonight, Natasha would pass her own room up and they would walk in silence to Clint's door. If Clint told her goodnight then she would head back to her room and ease her frustration another way. Thankfully tonight was not one of those nights.

Tonight Clint opened his door and left it open as he entered his room. Tonight he began to take off his shirt without even looking back to make sure she shut the door. It was not love. No, Natasha didn't dare let that emotion come into this room. This was sex.

Clothing was shed and tossed onto the ground in piles so that they could dress easier after. Natasha pushed Clint onto the bed and straddled him. There was no teasing or playing, it was down to business. They needed release. All that pent up energy from sparring needed to go somewhere. She straddled him, bouncing against him to get him riled up. His hands moved up to her breasts to squeeze them. Natasha closed her eyes and relished the feeling.

When he was hard enough, Clint moved his hands to Natasha's hips and guided her down onto him. She rolled her hips, making him grunt. He would thrust back. Her nails raked his chest as she felt her peak quickly coming to her. Natasha bit her lip and ran her hand down to where they intertwined. She played with that bud, the friction from Clint wasn't enough to quite throw her over the edge so quickly. She bucked forward as she neared and Clint's nails dug into her hips. He was close.

Natasha bit her lip again as she came, her nails digging into Clint's chest. Clint threw his head back and Natasha could feel the heat pouring inside her in spurts.

It was over. She took a deep breath and climbed off of the Avenger. Clint moved off the bed and headed for the shower to clean up. Natasha grabbed her clothes and quickly dressed. Then without a backward glance she was gone.

* * *

Natasha was thankful for the pool that Stark had added on the roof. She was thankful for the trees to make it look like anywhere else, but mostly she was thankful for the solitude the roof could bring. She hadn't bothered to turn the lights on, opting to quietly make her way around the pool. She laid down on the floor and stared up at the starless sky. That's what she hated about Manhattan, the city glowed so bright she couldn't even see the stars.

She was out of Clint's room and cleaned up. Now she could think about what just occurred. It was purely physical what was between them. Simple and straight to the point. But if Natasha were to be truthful, she would admit she wanted more than a simple fuck. Clint was the reason she left the Soviet. She had followed him into this SHIELD or whatever it was now. They were friends, always there for each other but Natasha cared for him. She hadn't cared for someone this much since…

Natasha sighed and closed her eyes. She hadn't thought about him in so long. She had shut that part of her life down when she left Russia. But still she saw those dark eyes looking at her with love. How he kissed her. Natasha sighed. For so long she believed Alexei to be dead. Then for mere minutes she had her husband back in her life and then he was killed.

Something wet touched Natasha's face and her eyes darted open. There was nothing but cloudless skies above her. She frowned and wiped her face praying that some damned pigeon hadn't gotten her. The second she closed her eyes it happened again. This time Natasha darted up into sitting position and looked around.

Sure enough, Loki sat on one of the reclining chairs with bubbles floating around him. She could hardly make out his face but she was sure he was smirking.

"Should you be out here?" Natasha frowned.

"Better here than in my room with Coulson at the door," Loki replied. A bubble made its way to Natasha and popped.

"I meant," Natasha swatted away another bubble. "Don't you need to be inside to make your concealment thing work?"

"I asked for the height of the building and compensated," Loki told her.

Natasha shrugged and laid back down.

"Why are you out here?" She heard Loki question.

"Wanted some time to think," she answered honestly.

"Want me to leave?" came Loki's voice.

Natasha furrowed her brow, "I'm surprised you'd ask."  
"I never said I was going to," she could hear the smile in his voice.

"I could just piss you off," she said.

"I could just throw you off the building," Loki warned.

"I'm a lot stronger than I look," Natasha rolled onto her side and propped her head up.

"Me too," Loki smirked.

"Well, by human standards I'm pretty tough," Natasha grinned.

"Russia's equivalent to a Captain America," Loki nodded.

Natasha pursed her lips at Loki's information that was obviously acquired from Clint, "pretty much."

"Not that you'd know it with my idiotic brother around, but I'm stronger than the average Asgardian."

"Awwwwwwww," Natasha smiled. "You called him brother."  
Loki glared at her.

"So," Natasha continued to smile, "you can kick ass?"

Loki shrugged, "I am stronger than 'average.' Out of _Thor_, Sif and the warriors three, I was the weakest…Well, in pure strength."

"Smartest?"

"Of course," Loki smirked. "Didn't help things though. It just meant that I got them out of things all the time. Or helped them into trouble…" Loki chuckled. "We have these airships that are very delicate to steering and when we were 130 or so, we tried to 'borrow' one."

"Borrow?" Natasha stood and motioned with her head toward the door.

Loki nodded and followed the red head, "well, they did eventually get it back. But Thor and the others couldn't figure the airship out so they had Thor borrow me." Loki rolled his eyes. "I looked it over and went over what I thought would be the logical directions and told him how to make it go."

"You didn't steer yourself?" Natasha asked as they made their way down the stairs.

"This is the reason I steer," Loki grinned. "Because just as I was looking back to see how to steer the damned thing, Thor tries to see how to make it go. This sends Sif sailing into the warriors three and all of them falling off the airship and me holding on for dear life because Thor never just touches things, he smashes things." Loki sighed. "And he smashed it and made it stuck gathering speed."

"Sounds about right," Natasha laughed.

Loki decided he liked her laugh. "We were nearly past the waterfalls of Asgard when I made it up to the steering and figured it out. It was on our second lap of Asgard that Mother noticed us and used a spell to get us down."

Natasha noted that Loki never abstained from saying 'Mother' and asked, "Couldn't you do the spell yourself."

Loki shook his head, "I was not proficient in magic at that point."

"What is 130 in Asgardian years?" Natasha asked. They had made it back to the penthouse and sat down at the counter.

Loki looked up in concentration, "starting of adolescence?"

Natasha blinked, "you spend how long as kids?"

Loki shrugged, "an Asgardian can walk and talk in their first years of life. Not sure exactly when, never had to deal with one before."

_And either he doesn't watch the kids or he doesn't have them._ Natasha nodded to show she was listening.

"We do not begin to go through the change until….100 at the very earliest. I want to say I was in my late 120s when I started to go through it. Thor was early 120s if I'm not mistaken. We reached full height around our late 170s." Loki frowned as he tried to remember when Thor reached his full height.

"You're supposed to be ancient, right?" Natasha eyed him.  
"I'm 1,051 and Thor's 1,054," Loki answered.

"That's amazingly close for Asgardians, isn't it?"

"Generally a few decades are between children," Loki nodded.

"Decades?" Natasha winced. "The sex life on Asgard must suck."

Loki raised a brow, "I know for a fact that it is very much present."

"Then there are accidents….." Natasha noted that Loki still looked confused. "Having kids without meaning to."

"You'd have to be pretty stupid," Loki told her. "There our spells and countermeasures. I have three on myself so that if one wears off the others….." Loki paused.

"So you don't have any kids?" Natasha ventured.

"No," Loki shook his head. He closed his eyes and said something in some weird language.

"What was that?"

"I was without magic," Loki said simply. "Needed to put the spell back up while I was thinking about it."

The elevator dinged and they both looked over to see Fury stepping out of the elevator. He stopped dead when he saw Loki. "You have teleportation too?"

Loki smirked at Natasha, "I think I'm in trouble."

**Facts I did not want to post in the beginning that comes from Marvel itself: **

**Black Widow is in love/like with Hawkeye**

**Black Widow was once a ballerina and married a man named Alexei who was also a KGB spy. **

**Black Widow was told Alexei was dead and years later found him amnesia'd up. He remembered her moments before he was fatally shot**

**Loki cannot teleport but can astral project. They are different. Bastard just snuck out**

**The ages are my own figuring. The actual sex is my own figuring (I assume, i have not taken the time to scour the comics). The spells for no kids are my own figuring. **

**I hope you enjoy! Please Review!**


	7. Breakfast and Dinner

**aa826 is a wonderful goddess because she reminded me that I had not posted yet. And because of her I am getting to work on the next chapter, which is mostly planned out, and will hopefully have it posted later today. **

Natasha ate her cereal as the blond god headed for the kitchen area. He had just announced that he was going to cook them a delicious meal. Jane was trying to persuade him that it was unnecessary and to sit down but the god was already rummaging in the cabinets.

Darcy leaned over, "don't eat anything he hands you. He…oh my god."

Natasha followed Darcy's gaze to see Loki emerging from the elevator with tousled hair and wearing only the sweatpants that Pepper had given him. He was rubbing his eyes as he made his way straight for Thor.

"Brother! I am making breakfast!" Thor proclaimed and began rummaging through the fridge.

"And here you got mad because _I_ tried to kill them," Loki muttered.

"Quit jesting brother, I make spectacular food and you know it," Thor dropped an egg. "Shut up."

Loki shook his head and leaned against the counter, Thor had mentioned to him last night about cooking for the Midgardians. Loki decided he needed them alive at the moment.

Thor began pushing bread into some metal device and then ripped open the bacon. Loki yawned and contemplated sleeping against the counter. He really hated mornings.

The sound of eggs smashing brought him back and Loki frowned as Thor smashed bits of egg shells into the bowl. He turned and saw the bacon lying on the cold pan. Loki waved a hand and the bacon lifted off the pan and the dial turned to where he assumed would be a correct heat. He had only seen Pepper use it once. Thor turned and Loki dropped the bacon back into place.

"We must have pancakes," Thor headed for the pantry.

Loki used his magic to pull the whole mess of eggs out of the bowl, remove the bits of shell and then whirl it around so that they were actually scrambled. It fell back just as Thor shut the door to the pantry. Then Thor began to work on the pancakes.

"These are so simple, you just add water," Thor told him.

Loki yawned again and waved a hand to flip the bacon before it burned.

Natasha put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Thor legitimately thought he was cooking a feast on his own.

"Do you two normally cook together?" Jane asked.

"Loki only has to cook when he must," Thor answered as he mixed the batter. "He rather sit back and let me do all the cooking."

Loki rubbed his eyes, "is the bacon done yet?"

Thor cursed, "I almost forgot. Ah, but they are perfect." Thor moved the bacon to a plate and piled on more into the pan. During this time Loki sent a stream of water into the batter mix. He knew too dry when he saw it.

Thor went back to mixing the pancakes. Then he began setting up a pan to cook them in as well. Meanwhile, Loki was taking care of the bacon behind his back and the toast now that he figured out what the damn machine was doing.

Thor splattered the pancakes onto the pan and went to grab some juice. Loki sighed and with a wave of his hand the splatters became perfect circles.

"You know he almost burned down my house," Jane told Loki which made the god chuckle.

Not long after, breakfast was served. They munched silently except for Clint and Loki. Clint refused to eat food prepared by the black haired god and Loki was about to fall asleep in his chair.

"I'm surprised to see you awake so early," Thor grinned at his half-conscious brother.

Loki grumbled, "you mentioned breakfast yesterday…figured I should show up."

"You and food," Thor smirked. "We once had contests to see who could eat the most, and by the end of it everyone had tossed down their plates while Loki was asking for dessert."

"They had strawberry cake," Loki said sleepily. "And it was delicious."

"If you ate more meat you'd be stronger," Thor told him, he paused and then got up to head for the door leading to the platform outside.

"If you ate less meat then maybe we wouldn't have to deal with such thunderous winds," Loki muttered, his eyes completely closed now.

"So," Darcy looked the god up and down. "Do all Asgardians look like you guys?"

Loki shrugged.

"Father has sent us a message," Thor called out. Almost immediately a raven flew into the room and landed on Loki's head.

"Grand," Loki opened an eye. The bird chittered about Loki's ear. "Odin-ow!" Loki swatted at the bird that had just pecked his head. The bird screeched and landed on his left shoulder. Loki glared at it. "When do we want to meet with Odin?-ow!" Loki swatted at the bird who had bit his ear.

"Methinks that father is not taking too kindly to you calling him that," Thor smirked.

"He's not my f-" the bird began pecking at Loki's nose and Loki swatted it in the head.

"Is father coming here?" Thor grinned.

The bird tilted its head at Loki who responded, "you heard the ass. Is he coming here?" The bird squawked. "When he can get away, but it may take a few days." Loki told Thor.

"Why not Heimdall?" Thor asked. The bird squawked again.

"He says that Odin-ow!-needs to speak to both of us. If you peck me again I will turn you into a turkey so that Thor can eat you!" The bird squawked again.

"Leave the poor bird alone, you know it was father's idea," Thor told him.

Loki muttered something in old norse which made the bird bite his lip. Before Loki could curse the bird, it flew out the door.

* * *

Natasha got out of the taxi and headed into the small restaurant. Natasha smiled prettily at the man who was waiting by the podium. The man smiled back his eyes glancing over the beautiful woman.

Natasha was blonde with green eyes for this mission. The black dress she wore was extremely short with a plunging neckline. Studansky enjoyed clueless blonde bimbos, so that's how she had introduced herself as. His invitation for dinner was a way to get to know him better and learn more about his black market trading. Not her favorite use of her talents but if she could subdue him later she may be able to sneak a look at his phone or get into other items nearby to gather intel for Fury.

Natasha flipped her long blonde hair back as the host led her to Studansky's table. It was all the way in the back. A possible red flag. Natasha sat herself down at the table, taking care not to show off her undergarments as she did it. She could do that later if it was even needed.

"Glad you could make it," Studansky smiled at her. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss that tasted of cigars.  
Natasha smiled and ran her leg across his, "I'm glad you invited me. I've never been here before."

"My brother owns it," Studansky shrugged. "It's delicious."

The dinner was nothing but small talk and cheesy lines. Natasha continued to play the clueless blonde. She did notice the men who were seated a few minutes after them. They were bodyguards of Studansky's. She wondered why they hadn't arrived before she did.

She sipped her wine and paused. A hand was feeling its way up her thigh. She smiled seductively at Studansky who winked at her. The hand massaged that thigh and she wondered how far he'd go in a restaurant. It wasn't that crowded, so he might.

Their food arrived and the hand vanished from her thigh.

"The duck is exquisite," Studansky told her as he poured her more wine.

Natasha took the wine as Studansky poured himself another glass. "Everything has been so good! Your brother is such a great cook!"

The hand returned, a lot higher up this time.

"He's the owner not the cook," Studansky said as he played with Natasha's hair.

Natasha giggled at her 'mistake'. "Well he's got a great cook." Her eyes glanced at Studansky's right hand which was holding his glass of wine. While the left one was currently tangled in her long tresses. Which meant the hand underneath the table did not belong to him. As if realizing it had been found out, she received a rough pinch on her inner thigh.

Natasha took another drink of the wine, "sorry, I need to visit the ladies room." She started to scoot back.

Studansky nodded and pointed to where the restroom was.

Natasha headed that way and looked back at the table. No one was underneath it. She winked at Studansky and headed into the restroom. Immediately she was greeted by her blonde reflection.

"He's trying to kill you," the reflection told her.

Natasha stopped dead. _Did my reflection just…_

"The food is poisoned," her reflection looked past Natasha. "But I think one of his friends are coming in to do it the messy way."

Natasha turned to look at the door. She felt an arm encircle her, pinning down her own arms while a hand covered her mouth. She struggled but could not break free. She ceased her struggling when a moment later the door opened and a bodyguard walked in. He stared right at her and then turned to head for the stalls. Natasha furrowed her brow.

They bodyguard was jerking the stall doors open as if looking for something. Then she heard a voice in her ear, "do you want me to kill him?"

Loki.

Natasha sighed in relief as she realized it was Loki who had her pinned. Loki who had spoken to her in the mirror. She shook her head to his question. She needed to subdue him not kill him. Loki loosened his grip which allowed Natasha to head for the bodyguard.

The bodyguard didn't even see her coming. His heavy body hit the ground with a thud. Natasha began to pull him to the stall.

"What's your mission?" Loki asked her.

Natasha looked at him surprised, "gather information."

Loki nodded and the bodyguard was tossed back into the stall. "He'll wake up tomorrow."

Natasha felt a strange tingling pressure all over her body. She looked in the mirror and saw the bodyguard.

"That form will better suit your purpose," Loki told her.

"So, you're helping me?" Natasha asked.

Loki shrugged, "I was bored."

"And you felt the best way to warn me was to feel me up?"

Loki smirked, "those are interesting undergarments."

Natasha rolled her eyes.

* * *

Natasha had seen how the bodyguards acted on surveillance cameras several times, but it was interesting actually being the bodyguard. Right before she sat back down she nodded at Studansky who smirked. Then she felt a pinch on her ass. _Ah, Loki is following me._

Thankfully the bodyguards remained silent and Natasha could simply observe. After leaving the restaurant, they headed for a club. In the back room, Studansky made deal after deal with guns from all different countries. Drugs, toxins, chemicals: this man apparently dealt in all of them.

It was morning before she was able to leave to go home. Thankfully she knew which vehicle the lunkhead owned and was able to drive back to her car.

Natasha climbed into her car with some difficulty; the man was much taller and wider than her.

"Have fun?"

Natasha immediately pulled a gun and pointed it at Loki's face. She took a deep breath but kept the gun at point. Loki had evidently traded in his Midgardian clothes for a green tunic and black pants. She assumed it was Asgardian casual.

"If you're going to threaten me," Loki smirked, "then at least look pretty about it."

Natasha felt the tingling sensation and looked down to see that she was back in her form and in the short dress. Her wig was missing though.

Natasha pulled the gun back and locked it before setting it next to her leg, "we need to get you back to Stark's before they realize you're gone."

"They won't," Loki said simply.

Natasha slammed the gas, making the god jerk back in his seat. "Fury would kill me if he knew you were out here."

"Sounds like we shouldn't tell him," Loki grinned. "If anyone looks in my room they will see me sleeping."

Natasha frowned, "starting to get that magic back aren't you?"

Loki smirked, "a bit."

"You are not telling Fury anything." Natasha stated. "I am telling him that I was found out, able to escape and then I followed them."

"Would you have preferred I let them kill you?" Loki tilted his head.

"I could have handled them," Natasha ground out. "It's not exactly that easy to poison me either. And I can take those guys."

"You couldn't take me," Loki said simply.

"I didn't know you were there," Natasha said defensively. She didn't want to admit the sheer panic she had felt when she was completely pinned from behind.

Loki smirked and the looked forward to their destination. "Midgardian undergarments are different than ours."

"You suddenly a connoisseur of women's underwear?" She frowned.

"I've seen enough of them," Loki smirked even more. He leaned forward, "but yours are quite different."

Natasha smacked Loki on his chest which just made the god laugh.

**Loki does enjoy playing :D**

**Please review! I remember to post when I see reviews. XD**


	8. Dirty Deeds!

**I want to repeat that the things that I have about Loki in here are actually legit. Except his childhood stories: those are my own creation. But the statistics I put in and the abilities are real from Marvel. The dude is totally badass. Like his main weakness is legit his inability to let go of his hang ups with Thor and others so his plans bite him in the ass. **

**Anyway, everyone applaud aa826 because she convinced me to post twice today and got me to get through this giant ass chapter. GO AA826!**

Natasha dodged Clint's punch and roundhouse kicked him in the stomach. He grunted and moved back a few feet as he gripped his stomach. "You're worked up," he wheezed.

Natasha smiled sheepishly, she didn't mean to take her frustration out on Clint. It wasn't his fault and he didn't even know what was wrong. She was still on edge from being pinned down so easily by the God of Mischief. What bothered her even more was the fact that once she realized who it was, she had ceased struggling. She wasn't sure why, but both possible reasons bothered her. She could tell herself that she knew that she couldn't get out of Loki's grip-which bothered her. Or she could say that she liked being pinned by Loki.

Clint was knocked backward again by Natasha, "maybe we should take a break," Clint said from the floor.

Natasha nodded. She just needed to get the god out of her head. No more thinking about him or hanging near him.

"Agent Romanoff," she turned when she heard Director Fury's voice. Fury was marching across the gym to her.

Natasha had been waiting for him. When she got back this morning she had told him all the information she had received and that her cover had been blown.

"Mission?" Natasha asked.

"Target," Fury stated. "Studansky is too much of a threat. Find him before he realizes you are alive."

Natasha nodded. Studansky should be back at the club tonight. "I will leave tonight."

The doors slammed open and the three of them turned to see Bruce, Thor and Loki walk in.  
"Remind me, why am I doing this?" Loki sighed.

Thor pulled off his bracers, "because it will be fun!"

"Your definition of 'fun' varies greatly from mine," Loki pulled off his tunic. "This is torture."

"Do you ever stop complaining?" Thor laughed and pulled off his own tunic.

"Okay," Bruce pulled out some white circles. "These go on you." Loki stopped and let Bruce put the little circles on his chest, arms and back. "These go on you," he did the same to Thor but added two at Thor's temple. "And this goes on your head." He handed a band to Loki.

"Why don't I get one of those?" Thor asked.

"It measures brain activity-" Bruce explained.

"Which you clearly lack," Loki put the band in place.

"Which Loki needs to use to create his magic, so we need a clearer image with him," Bruce looked between the two.

"Dare I ask?" Fury crossed his arms. The three looked over to him.

Bruce shifted his weight from foot to foot, "Tony and I got an idea that we want to try out." He looked over to Loki. "We want to see if magic is able to be detected. Maybe a wavelength or something."

"Boots off brother," Thor reminded Loki. Loki sighed and both of their boots vanished and popped up across the room. "Mine weren't magic."

"I'm not giving you any advantage," Loki crossed his arms.

"Tony and I," Bruce watched the brothers uneasily, "are going to watch from the viewing area," he pointed to a room that had tempered glass so that others could view the combatants. It was also designed to be a box that the Avengers could secure themselves in if there was a Hulk incident. "Loki and Thor are going to fight without magic and then fight with it. We're hoping that we can see a difference between the two."

"And you two are okay with this?" Natasha raised a brow.

"We're bored," Thor and Loki answered in unison. They immediately eyed each other.

"Well, I'm getting a front row seat to this," Clint grinned. "Kick his ass Thor."

Thor grinned at Loki.

"I get my magic in the second half."

Thor's smile vanished.

A few moments later, Natasha, Clint, Fury, Tony and Bruce had situated themselves in the box with a clear view to the brothers. Bruce grabbed a microphone, "Can you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Turning on equipment," Bruce pushed a few dials and Tony set the computer up. The glass projected two transparent bodies in front of them. Lights illuminated brain activity, and digits showed heart rates and adrenaline.

"This will be like when we were children!" Thor nearly bounced.

"Joy," Loki sighed.

"You are just angry because you were always paired with Sif," Thor frowned.

"Doesn't bother me now," Loki smirked.

Thor shook his head, "I thought she had taught you not to touch."

Loki shrugged, "one kick is not going to remove the memory of her ass."

Bruce touched the button on the microphone, "whenever you guys are ready." He watched as the adrenaline levels increased slightly.

Loki backed away from Thor as the older sibling stretched his arms out. A moment later Thor turned and headed for Loki, charging at full speed. Loki frowned and then charged as well. Right when Thor reached him, he shifted his weight to the side and used Thor's own force to send him sailing over his head and into the floor.

The thud made Loki chuckle.

"NO MAGIC!" Thor rose and held his nose.

Loki smirked, "that was simply transitivity and your predictability."

"You and your tricks," Thor rubbed his nose and then got into fighting stance.

"Ladies first," Loki crossed his arms.

Thor glared at him but attacked just the same. Loki deflected his first punch but was knocked back by the second punch. He was quick to retaliate and sent Thor flying back a few times.

"He's a lot stronger than I thought he was," Bruce commented.

Tony watched as Loki sent Thor sailing back again, "yeah…."

"Thor's not giving it his all," Fury frowned. "He can punch harder than that."  
"I think it's because of his bracers," Bruce said. "Loki made a big deal about him removing them. He said that Thor would be too strong with them."

"He's also fighting smart." Natasha stated. "He's making Thor do all the work and then turning his attacks on him."

"Never fun to be on the receiving end of that," Clint sighed.

"Their heartbeats are up dangerously," Bruce commented, "but they're not breaking too much of a sweat."

Tony reached out and pulled the body of Thor's closer to him. With the interactive computer he was able to see more clearly. "I think their muscles are different."

"Different?" Fury asked without removing his eyes from the two gods. Thor was winning the fight but Loki was not letting him win easily.

"They're about three times as dense," Bruce said off handedly. Everyone looked at him which made Bruce pause, "Loki let me look at his wounds a few times to get them to heal. He let me remove some dead tissue and I inspected it." He fiddled with some of the mechanics, "They also weigh ridiculous amounts. Loki weighs 525 lbs."

Each one of them looked over to the leaner god. "Is that why he doesn't stop eating?" Fury asked.

"Well, their metabolism is quicker than ours but I think Loki's metabolism is just a bit above average for them as well. Thor commented on his hunger before."

"Are we recording this?" Clint grinned as Loki was sent flying across the room.

"Yes," Tony nodded. "Do you see the difference in brain activity?"

Bruce sighed, "yeah…" He grabbed the microphone. "I think that's good."

Both gods stopped and took deep breaths. Sweat was pouring down their foreheads and Loki was nearly limping from that last toss.

"How much does Thor weigh?" Natasha asked.

Bruce shrugged, "not sure. We can ask him later though."

Tony grabbed the microphone, "okay merlin, do your thing?"

Loki raised a brow at the weird name but didn't bother to ask. He smirked and looked to Thor, "my turn."

Tony frowned as he saw a giant increase in brain activity in Loki's while Thor had a surge of adrenaline. Twenty Loki's popped up next to Thor and Thor went to throw a punch at the nearest one but slipped on a patch of ice that formed underneath him. The Lokis laughed.

Thor sent a jolt of electricity around him and all the Lokis disappeared. "Out brother," Thor glanced around. "Show yourself!"

"Fine." Thor turned and was immediately jerked off of his feet. The shadows of the room had left their natural positions and had pulled him into midair. They wrapped around his body, effectively pinning him. Loki smirked and encircled Thor in water. Thor struggled against the restraints in the water without any progress.

"Is he drowning?" Fury reached back for his gun.

"Whatever he's doing, it's lighting up this damn sensor." Tony glanced between the scene in front of him and the technology.

Thor yelled inside the water, lighting it up with lightning and sent electric shocks out in sporadic bolts around the water encasement. Loki dodged the bolts and let the shadows dissolve which made Thor and the water fall to the ground.  
Thor jumped up and sent more lightning. Loki used his magic to toss a metal barbell in front of him which deflected the attack.

Loki smirked at Thor which made the older god stop. He looked down to see tendrils of water coming up and turning into snakes. Thor shouted and ran from the snakes which made Loki burst into laughter.

"Get rid of them!" Thor shouted.

"NO!" Loki turned the small snakes into a Thor sized cobra.

Thor ran from the giant snake, "I will make you pay."  
"You have no idea how funny this is!" Loki continued to laugh.

Fury blinked a few times, "is he…."

"Afraid of snakes?" Tony finished, "yeah, looks like."

"Stop or I will tell Fury!" Thor threatened.  
Fury tilted his head.

"Like I care if Fury knows about some childish fear," Loki smirked. "Which I've had the common sense to outgrow."

The cobra lunged at Thor and he sent it flying with a punch.

"I'll tell Lady Natasha!"

Now that made Loki pause. Fury would laugh and threaten to use Loki's fear against him, but Natasha might just do it for fun. The snake immediately dissolved.

Thor paused to catch his breath.

"So he fears Natasha more than Fury," Bruce commented.

"Who doesn't?" Clint muttered.

Fury glared at Clint with his one eye, "I just want to know what could make him stop in his tracks like that."

Thor raced for Loki, static already charging up in him. But Loki stood still with a Cheshire grin on his face. When Thor was within twenty feet of Loki, Loki's figure began to shift.

"What in the hell?!" Tony blinked as the interactive image of Loki began to morph and shift. The organs moved around and his body was growing.

Thor stopped in front of a giant dragon. "Uh-oh." Thor jumped to the right just in time to dodge the fire blast.

"Is that a motherfucking dragon?!" Fury stared in horror.

Natasha exclaimed in Russian.

Thor ran for his bracers, putting them on immediately. He was then sent flying by Loki's tail. Thor rolled to a stop and then put his hand out. A few crashes later and Mjolnir was in his hand. He leapt to attack. Loki breathed fire and Thor sidestepped. Loki's teeth came really close to Thor's arm.

Bruce chuckled.

"You find this amusing?!" Fury exclaimed.

"I find the fact that I'm more surprised by seeing Thor's brain activity shoot up with an idea than the fact that Loki's a dragon amusing," Bruce laughed.

Natasha nodded in agreement. They all turned when they heard a crash. Thor had put Mjolnir in Loki's mouth and dropped it. The dragon now had its jaw stuck to the floor.

"Are we done?" Thor called out.

Tony grabbed the microphone again, "generally when you knock the dragon out you win the game."

Loki roared and Tony pulled back.

"Yeah, yeah." Thor laughed. He pulled Mjolnir from Loki's mouth and Loki transformed back into his normal state.

Loki held his jaw, "that was low."

"No, _that_ was funny," Thor laughed.

* * *

Natasha went through the dead man's pockets. Studansky had proven to be too much of a liability and had made himself a target in the eyes of the new SHIELD. It was Natasha's job to remove the target. She shut the door behind her, making sure it locked.

"How's that ledger coming?"

Natasha whirled around and pointed the borrowed gun at Loki. Loki didn't move but the gun turned into a flower in her hand.

"What are you doing here?" Natasha glared at him.

"I was bored," Loki shrugged. He was in his pants and tunic again.

"If you're seen we are both in trouble," Natasha looked around but the hallway was empty. She looked back at Loki and his appearance morphed so that he was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt. His hair shortened and mimicked Tony's.

"Better?" Loki asked.

Natasha frowned. "It'll suffice." She headed for the main part of the club. The music blared loud and people danced around each other. She made a bee line for the door but Loki appeared in front of her.

"Do you have another mission?" Loki asked over the music.

Natasha shook her head. Loki grinned and grabbed her hand. Natasha was pulled over to the bar. She let him do it because she had no way of getting out of his grip, or so she told herself.

"What drinks do you Midgardians drink?" He asked over the music.

She ordered them vodka. "This," She said when they got their shots, "is _my_ drink." She threw it back and Loki followed suit. She watched him lick his lips as he tried to discern if he liked it.

"It's not as strong," Loki told her.

"I can get you the strong stuff," She waved the bartender over and they were able to get the strongest vodka.

"Now this is like home," Loki laughed.

"Loud music too?" Natasha looked around her.

"Not the same music, but yes." Loki nodded. "We'd go down to the hall and tell stories, dance and drink ourselves into a stupor."

"You drink yourself stupid?" Natasha asked. It was hard to think of a drunk-out-of-his-skull Loki.

"On occasion, though it was more fun to fool around," Loki ran a finger down Natasha's arm.

Natasha laughed, "well that's not happening tonight." Loki laughed and Natasha caught her mistake, "Or any other night!"

"Dance with me?" Loki asked.

Natasha blinked in surprise. "Do you think you can?" Loki nodded and Natasha shrugged. "what the hell."

Loki took to dancing surprisingly fast. She assumed he had been watching the dancers since they got here but still. Most guys she knew had issues keeping to a beat. Loki's hands found her hips quickly as he danced behind her. Light touches that were there enough to hint at what he wanted.

The music was loud, the crowd was loud and for once she wanted to jump on tables and go wild. It was possible she was around the god of mischief a little too much. Maybe that's how she ended up in his arms as they dirty danced in the middle of the dance floor. Maybe that's why she didn't object when his hands drifted over her body.

They both hit the bar after quite a few songs and Natasha flagged the bartender. "I want the whole bottle! And the strongest alcohol you have for my friend." She tossed down bills and the bartender grabbed it up.

The man came back with a weird looking drink and a bottle of vodka. "What is this?" Loki asked.

"Zombie," The man answered. "It'll knock you on your ass. Limit is one per person."

"We'll see about that," Loki chuckled.

"Can Thor dance?" Natasha asked as she took a swig.

"eh, he can do the fancy stuff…slowly…no, not really," Loki laughed. "We are supposed to both be able to do that being princes and all."

"I keep forgetting you guys are royal," Natasha shook her head. "Because it's not enough to just be some alien from some other realm."

"This is delicious," Loki pointed to his drink.

"You guys got into a lot of trouble as kids, didn't you?" Natasha smirked, thinking back to how they fought around that afternoon.

Loki laughed, "Mother used to say: Where there's Loki, there's Thor. Where there's Thor, there is Loki."

Natasha tilted her head in question.

"We always got into trouble together," Loki explained. "I'd make Thor do something stupid. Thor would smash something because I made him mad. We'd do something stupid together."

"Sounds fun," Natasha grinned.

Loki shrugged and took a long drink.

"Who got the most girls?" Natasha asked.

Loki nearly choked and immediately started laughing, "Me!"

"What? Was Thor that bad?"  
"YES!" Loki laughed. "I was 153 when I realized that Thor had never lain with a woman so I decided to help him out. I told the fool to compliment a woman on her face or her shoes."  
"Because that wins a girl's heart," Natasha snorted.

Loki took another drink, "You'd be surprised." He downed the rest of the drink and shapeshifted into Tony. He hollered to the bartender, "I need a Zombie!"

The bartender looked around and then nodded and got the drink.

"So, Thor goes up to Kiana." Loki began taking off the sunglasses that he had whipped up for Tony's look. "And starts telling her that her shoes look very effective for training and that they must help in the foot support."

Natasha snorted.

"He gives up on that and then goes 'your face-I like it!'"

Natasha had to grab her sides as Loki/Tony's impression of Thor was spot on.

"I had to convince Kiana that Thor, who had yet to take a single drink of ale, was completely drunk," Loki/Tony took the drink from the bartender.

"Just open me a tab for now," Natasha told the bartender. She looked at Loki, "so you got with girls quicker?"

"I hated them for the longest time," Loki snorted and took another drink. "This may be a touch stronger than I anticipated."

"Keep on talking," Natasha took another swig.

"They liked me because I was 'mysterious' and some other stuff. I ignored them and was an ass. Apparently they like that."

"All girls like a bit of bad in their man," Natasha told him.

Loki smirked, "oh I have since learned and use that to my advantage."

"Okay, back to younger you."

"I was 137….8?" Loki frowned. "When Amora cornered me and dragged me off to some cupboard. And then I didn't hate girls anymore."

"I'd imagine," Natasha snorted.

"Girls-well, women-on Asgard are interested in strength and warriors," Loki told her. "That's who they marry and end up with. So they only know how to discuss things like that. Otherwise they are pretty dumb."

"Didn't your mom teach you magic?" Natasha asked.

Loki frowned, "She was a bit of an exception to the rule."  
"I think you might be a Mama's boy," Natasha giggled.

"My mother," Loki began-ignoring Natasha's comment, "was evil when it came to punishments. Heimdall dragged our sorry asses from a celebration that had gotten out of hand and we were completely naked."  
Natasha downed more of the bottle.

"So, we are standing in the middle of the great hall, soldiers on each side of us, and we can hear father yelling that he doesn't want to deal with us at that hour."

"Father?"

"Shut it." Loki took another drink. "And mother comes in and we are barely covering ourselves while Heimdall has us both by the ear. Mother is very calm, which is an extremely bad sign by the way."

"What she do?" Natasha grinned. These stories were fun.

"She made us go put one of the walls that we had smashed down, back up. And we were not able to go get dressed until we were done."

Natasha laughed and drank the rest of the bottle. "I think I need one of those too."

"Hey," Loki turned into Thor. "Two Zombies, one for me and the lady."

Natasha was giggling way too hard. Loki was holding his arms out in exaggeration of Thor's muscular stature.

"One time," Loki/Thor began. "Thor got into trouble without me and it threw fa-Odin-whatever into a loop."

"Just call him father, I won't tell," Natasha was starting to feel warm. She couldn't remember the last time she got drunk. The bartender looked them both up and down and got them more drinks.

"So Thor is mad at me because he blames me for getting him into trouble. He pushed me while we are in the library and we knock down 12 shelves of books."

"Just 12?" Natasha grinned as she received her drink.

"They were as tall as three levels of the stark tower." Loki/Thor took a gulp of the drink. "I may get drunk."

"I was thinking the same thing," Natasha took another drink.

"So, we nearly smash father underneath and so Thor storms off. Well in the middle of the night he's playing with lightning and smashes some statue of our grandmother or something."  
"Do you destroy that much you can't remember?" Natasha laughed.

Loki laughed too, "YES!" He took another drink. "So father finds him and starts yelling for me to come out because 'there's no Thor without Loki.' When I don't show up father heads for my room. So there I am reading a book doing nothing wrong-"

Natasha snorted.

"-and father throws my door open. Invites himself in and tears down my illusion."

"I thought you weren't doing anything wrong."

"Yeah, I lied." Loki laughed, "I had 3 women on top of me and one on each side."

"You would," Natasha snickered.

"And father just starts yelling about what had he ever done to deserve two sons like us. Just screaming and storms off. Thor was so shocked at not getting into trouble that I had to get up and show him out of my room."

Loki looked down and saw that Natasha's drink was empty, "I think we need more drinks."

* * *

Natasha didn't understand magic. She did understand that Loki had a firm grasp on magic, so when he said he could get them home in one piece she followed him. Natasha turned on the car and Loki put his hand on the dashboard.

The car jetted off without Natasha touching anything. She leaned forward and turned on her radio. It blared rock music and Natasha was about to change it when she heard the intro to 'Dirty Deeds.'

Natasha immediately began singing along in her drunkenness. She was bouncing in the seat and Loki's reckless driving had her moving all over the car. If she had been less drunk she might have rethought letting an Asgardian drive in the first place.

Loki was now singing the chorus with her. She heard cops behind them and she turned just in time to see their vehicles go dead. She couldn't help but laugh.

They managed to get to the tower and into the elevator without running into anything. But now they were trying to stand on their own.  
"Dirty deeds…" Loki grinned.

"Done dirt cheap." Natasha laughed.

"Cyanide," Loki smirked as the elevator doors opened to the penthouse.

"TNT," Natasha stumbled out of the elevator.

"Neckties," Loki took her hand and twirled her in what she assumed was something Asgardian.

Natasha smirked, "Contracts!"

"High Voltage!" Loki twirled Natasha and she fell on her ass.

"Dirty deeds!" Natasha laughed.

"Done dirt cheap!" Loki fell down next to her.

"You're drunk," Natasha laughed. "So very drunk."

"I thought you couldn't get drunk because 'Russian'?" Loki smirked.

"Shut up!" Natasha laughed.

Across the room, standing back against the wall was Bruce and Tony. They looked at each other and then back at the two on the floor. Bruce started to walk toward them but Tony grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him down behind the counter.

A drunk Loki and a drunk Natasha taking on Bruce meant chaos, death and green monsters. Tony was not about to go against any of that.

"I need to go to bed," Natasha muttered.

Loki smiled, "Can I come?"  
"Nope," Natasha stumbled to her feet. "No Ass-guardians allowed."

"You can come to mine," Loki informed her from the floor.

"Good night, Loki!" Natasha stumbled toward the elevator. She should have gone to her room in the first place. She wanted to know what made her come to the penthouse with Loki instead. She turned and saw that smirk on his face and she knew.

She quickly headed to the elevator and pressed the 'close' button.

**So, like I said-stuff is legit. Google Loki's weight: it'll pop up-i know because I forgot the exact number originally XD**

**Loki can transform into any creature. **

**Thor i believe originally had the ability to use lightning until Odin took the power away. but the comics have him losing his power if he puts down his hammer for several minutes and movie thor puts it down a lot...so i took some creative license and let him have his powers a bit. because he does possess the damn hammer after all. it just wasn't with him.**

**Please review people. I love it so very much!**


	9. Sons of Odin

**Sorry, I had a bit of difficulty with this chapter. Mostly because it's the one in front of the chapter I want to write. Hopefully I did okay on this...let me know. **

Natasha groaned as she opened her eyes to the offending light from her window. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was only 7 am. Natasha sat up and rubbed the sleep from one of her eyes and glanced around the room. The taste in her mouth told her she had been drinking the night before but she didn't see any mess or random men in her room. Sometimes Clint would be in her bed after a very drunken night. But he was nowhere to be found.

She stood and realized she was still in the clothes from last night. She groaned and started to take off the jacket but stopped when she felt something in the pocket. She pulled out a flower that was similar to a black and red tulip. Last night's events began to unfold in her head and she felt like smacking herself.

For starters, she had stayed after making a hit. It was a miracle she wasn't killed afterward by someone who had stumbled upon the mess. Then she had Loki out and around the damn city! He may have looked like the average person but it was a miracle that no one recognized him or any of the other avengers he had portrayed the night before.

Natasha stared at the flower. The worst part was that stupid smirk of Loki's had her severely wanting to take him up on his offer last night. She tossed down the flower on her nightstand and went to take a shower.

* * *

Bruce and Tony sat at the breakfast table by themselves. The night before had been interesting. Tony had begun working on his latest Iron man suit and Bruce stayed up trying to see if there was a way to track the magic that Loki possessed. The data that was collected from the fight was mesmerizing. But so far they hadn't found out how to track the magic just yet. When they had decided to take a break they had seen a very drunk spy and a very drunk god stumbling in at three in the morning.

"Do you think Fury knows?" Bruce asked. He eyed the director who was across the room talking to Barton and Selvig.

"He may have put her up to it," Tony frowned and wiped his eyes. He knew that sometimes Fury set Natasha up with missions that would require wooing some poor bastard.

"Wouldn't she have followed him back to the room if Fury had?" Bruce asked.

Tony shrugged. He wasn't sure what to think. If Fury had put Natasha up to it then she may feel as if she didn't need to sleep with Loki to keep him interested. Or possibly, Loki knew about Fury's plan and was toying with Natasha. Tony frowned. If Loki didn't know and liked Natasha, they could end up with an extremely pissed off god. Then again, if Loki was toying with Natasha then they could be dealing with an extremely pissed off Black Widow. Tony wasn't sure which was worse.

Something else bothered him though. What if Natasha was not on a mission? What if Loki wasn't playing her?

Tony turned as the Television went off across the room, which made Darcy swear and Jane reach for the remote. Almost immediately after, Odin appeared near where Bruce and Tony were sitting.

"Father!" Thor jumped up from his relaxed position on the couch.

Odin smiled at his golden haired son, "I have gathered more information."

"Should I go get Loki? He is still abed," Thor asked.

"He will be up shortly," Odin told him. The older man turned while waving his hand and a wooden table appeared in front of him.

Odin turned when there was a ding at the elevator and Loki came out with one of Odin's ravens perched on his shoulder. Loki made his way to the other two Asgardians but made no sound. Aside from Loki's moody expression, he looked very presentable. His hair was combed back and he was wearing the green tunic and black pants again.

"If you went to sleep earlier, you wouldn't be in such a foul mood," Thor told him.

Odin sighed, "Only a fool provokes an angry Kalasnake."

Loki glared daggers at Thor and the elder sibling scooted toward the other side of the table.

Bruce and Tony made their way to look at the table that Odin had set up. It was a plain wooden table that was not remarkable in any way. Fury made his way over to the table as well, his eyebrow raised at it.

"Frey has told me that he anticipates Thanos to strike sometime this upcoming season," Odin told them.

"Somewhere between two weeks and two months," Loki pointed out. "Though I am betting on closer to 5 weeks from tomorrow."

Odin nodded, "alignment?"

Loki nodded, "but I am not quite sure at the timing. If he catches wind of what we are planning, he may be able to vary it by a few days."

Odin moved his hand and golden pinpoints showed up above the table in a formation of a constellation. "As to where it will show up, we are unsure."

"Here, unless Thanos catches wind," Loki stated and the pinpoints moved to focus on a golden earth.

"Why would they strike here again?" Bruce spoke up.

Odin eyed the man momentarily before looking at his dark haired son.

"He wanted me to bring the Chitauri to this spot before because this was where he planned to come," Loki told them, "Though it may not be directly over this tower-that was my doing."

"But it will be in Manhattan?" Fury crossed his arms.

"Undoubtedly," Loki nodded.

"Frey has mentioned something interesting," Odin began to pace around the table. "That it is possible to move the portal to another place, even a different realm."

Thor blinked, "Then we should do that. Take them to the Dark Elves home world. There is nothing but desert out there."

Loki crossed his arms as he eyed the golden Earth. As he stared at it, the Earth expanded to focus on New York. Odin continued to pace, eyeing both of his sons.

"We could move our army there as well: to prevent unneeded casualties," Thor continued.

"It won't work," Loki stated. Odin eyed his younger son but said nothing.

Thor paused, and whirled to look at Loki. "Frey said-"  
"Frey is an old codger," Loki rolled his eyes. "The spell he is talking about is very complicated. It requires a lot of information which we do not have."

"We know where he will be and when he will get here," Thor waved his hand dismissively. "What else do we need?"

"The exact place and exact time down to the minute," Loki frowned. "Without that information then the spell becomes less efficient." He paused as he did some calculations in his head. "I would say a fifty percent chance of even working."

Odin widened his pacing to include walking around the Midgardian home.

"That's a good chance," Thor told him. "We could save Midgard from further destruction."  
"That's a horrible chance," Loki told him, "We could open the 9 realms to annihilation."

The elevator dinged and they all looked over to see Natasha coming out. Natasha froze at the newcomers and the pissed off expressions on the two brothers.

Thor turned back to Loki, "I have faith in you. You could easily pull this off."

"I am telling you that it cannot be done with certainty," Loki was growing angry. "yes, there is a chance that we save your precious Midgard and have an army waiting for Thanos on an unpopulated world in a realm far from home. But there is also an equal possibility that it will not work. Leaving our army in the wrong place, all the realms open for destruction, and it would alert Thanos that I am alive and weak from performing such a useless spell."

Thor scoffed, "you merely want to save your own hide. Such cowardice."

Odin paused at a bookshelf and began to run his fingers over the titles on the bindings. Fury eyed the king wondering what the old man was up to.

"That spell will severely drain my magic," Loki pointed out to him, "And at this point we need my magic!"

"You're afraid to die in battle?" Thor slammed his fist on the table. "This is for the better good."  
"This is suicide for no progression," Loki gripped the table and stared the blond dead on. "Actually it's worse because I know that Thanos would not allow me to die."

"It could work!" Thor's thunderous voice boomed.  
"It could NOT!" Loki nearly yelled. "We need to be looking into ways to shut the portal, to keep it from opening. Possibly cursing Thanos in there for longer."

"We could end him now," Thor told him. "And not even worry about him after this."

Loki shook his head, "You really don't understand the concept of someone being stronger than you."

Thor smirked, "We can take him. The Avengers have proven themselves."

Loki took a deep breath, "I refuse to do the spell."

Odin stilled but did not say anything.

"You refuse?" Thor's features darkened. "This could mean the difference between the deaths of millions"

Loki looked down at the table. He was not going to do the spell. It was idiocy.

"Do you know what Thanos could unleash onto this planet? We could save them all."

"Or destroy ourselves." Loki stated.

"You really don't care do you?" Thor slammed his fist again. "You could save your magic up, I know you can-and you could do this spell."

Loki crossed his arms and started to look for Odin.

"Instead, you would unleash that monster unto this realm?" Thor growled, "It makes you no more than it."

Loki turned his head to his brother. He glared into Thor's eyes and Thor realized what he implied.

"Prove to me that you are not this kind of person," Thor said.

Loki stared at him stone faced, "Do what you want. You're going to do it anyway." He turned on his heel and headed out of the room.

Thor sighed and looked down at the table as his brother left. He knew better than to toy with Loki like that. Loki really felt as if he was a monster, to imply he was one was like cornering a two-headed snake. But Thor knew that the Midgardians did not stand a chance against Thanos.

"You have come to a conclusion?" Odin asked from the bookshelf.

Thor nodded, "We will have Loki perform the spell-if he won't then Frey will," The golden earth shrunk and a golden constellation appeared before Thor. He pointed to a dot on the constellation, "The dark elf world will prove to be the best place for this war. We will-"  
"no," Odin said softly.

Thor looked over to his father, "no?"

"We will not be performing the spell," Odin said simply.

"Just because Loki won't-"

"Loki has given many different reasons as to why the spell should not be performed and you ignored them all." Odin frowned. He turned and began to walk to Thor. "A king does not have to be the smartest man in the room, but he does have to listen to those that are smarter than him."  
"Loki cares not for Midgard or its people-"  
"And you care too much!" Odin snapped. "You are to be king of all nine realms, not just one!"

"Loki-"  
"Acted more of a king just now than you have," Odin frowned and then turned to look at the constellation. "Mayhap I chose the wrong son."

Thor stared at him and clenched his teeth. He looked down at the table in silence.  
"I will continue to have Frey look into the portals, so far he has not found anything of use." Odin continued. "I assume that Loki hasn't either." He frowned and then waved his hand and Loki appeared, leaning up against the wall.

Loki raised a brow at his father. He expected for himself to be brought back but he assumed it would take a little longer. He looked over to Thor and saw his brother holding back rage.

"What have you found on portals?" Odin questioned.

"One option would be the infinity gauntlet and gloves which I would suggest against," Loki told him.

Odin shook his head, "we do not need Thanos to get his hands on that."

"No," Loki agreed. "If I could pinpoint where he is emerging from then I can slow his entrance to the point we can attack but that may lead to warriors falling into hell itself."

"A warrior's death," Odin nodded. "And prevention?"  
Loki shook his head, and then jerked his head to Coulson and Fury. "They might have something."  
Odin raised a brow at the two.

Fury blinked in surprise.

"You have asked the internet?" Loki asked.

"The portal in question is prophesized and there does not seem a way to hamper it from our knowledge," Coulson told him.

"We may be able to pinpoint it," Tony spoke up. Odin turned to him expectantly.

"We are trying to see if there is a way to trace magic. Loki is helping us with it. Wouldn't this portal emit some sort of magic?"

Odin looked to Loki who nodded. "I'm not sure for how long." Loki frowned. "It could be a couple of days or a couple of minutes that it would emit it."

"A few minutes would be enough to get my army assembled," Odin told him.

"If it works," Loki advised.

"I have nothing but faith in my sons," Odin stated.

Loki rolled his eyes.

Immediately Odin, the table and Loki disappeared.

Thor crossed his arms, "That means Loki is in trouble." He huffed and stormed off.

* * *

Loki blinked against the sudden sunlight and determined he was on the roof of Stark Towers.

"Have I not earned the right to call you my son?" Odin stared at him.

Loki sighed, "I am not-"  
"I raised you! I fed you! Clothed you!" Odin yelled.

"That does not make me your son," Loki turned away from Odin, he didn't bother to walk away because Odin would just poof him back.

"I dealt with your mischief and tricks for over a thousand years, taught you of our family history, how to fight. I think I have earned the right for you to call me Father," Odin said calmly.

"You dealt with me because I was some relic in which you could use!" Loki spun around.

"Then why keep you around now?" Odin asked.

"Because I am useful." Loki said simply.  
"Why is it you hate _me_ so?" Odin asked. "You refuse to call me father, did you do the same to your Mother?"

Loki tensed up. He could see his mother's hurt face when he told her she wasn't his mother. Even though Frigga knew he was lying, it was still the last thing he had told her before she was killed. He refused to look Odin in the eyes.

"You refuse to call Thor brother but you helped him with that Midgardian," Odin stated.

"Jane," Loki said.

"You have interest in her?" Odin asked.

"No," Loki shook his head.

Odin took a deep breath as if trying to find the words, "for the past thousand years, you have been an Odinson-that will not change."

"Is it Mother's spell?" Loki asked. He turned to look at Odin who tilted his head in question. "Why I look like you?"

"When I found you, you were alone. Cast off for being so small." Odin told him. "I picked you up and held you. Then your skin changed color and you smiled at me."

Loki furrowed his brow.

"It was your own magic that made you look like an Asgardian, like me. Your Mother feared you might accidentally change back and kept an eye on you as you grew into adulthood. She wanted to make sure that you always felt like one of us." Odin smiled. "She told me that she believed that your Asgardian state had become your natural state of being."

Odin watched Loki take in the information.

"After this war," Odin began. "You will no longer be confined to that prison. Your bravery in Asgard has made up for your crimes. After your help in this war you can take your rightful place back home."

Loki crossed his arms.

"Your Mother would be proud," Odin smiled sadly. A moment later he was gone.

* * *

Tony worked with the interactive computer program that displayed his suit in front of him. He was currently working on the arm while leaning against the table. He wanted to make it stronger, more powerful than the last. With Thanos coming he would need to be at peak power. He frowned and made a mental note to increase the power so that the suit could work at peak performance for a longer time.

The program was on his home files so that the government wouldn't know about it. He had kept the information from Rhodey and Pepper. Though he was sure that Pepper knew what he was working on. She had hinted strongly for him to work on it when she first saw Loki in their kitchen.

Bruce was also working in the lab. He was still analyzing the data that Loki and Thor had produced. He could have used the other lab to analyze the data but Bruce wanted to bounce ideas off of Tony as they worked. Currently he was trying to analyze different wave movements to where they would light up on his screen.

Bruce muttered about inconsistencies and Tony sighed. What they needed was more data, but to do that would require finding the god of mischief and strapping those sensors back onto him. Tony doubted that Loki would have too much of a problem with putting the sensors on but the problem lay in the fact that no one had seen Loki since yesterday when Odin had popped them off somewhere.

When Loki hadn't shown up for dinner, Jane had begun to ask about the god. Thor had shrugged it off saying that Loki would get food if he was hungry. It had quickly become apparent that Thor didn't want to deal with Loki after that. The god of thunder nearly destroyed the gym in 'working out his frustration.' Fury became agitated when Loki didn't show up for breakfast or lunch. He had tried to use the sensors to see if Loki was even in the tower but Jarvis couldn't find the god.

Tony sighed and tossed one of his notebooks aside. He stopped as he realized that the notebook had stopped in midair. Loki phased into view and put the book down next to him. He was sitting on the table looking at Tony's diagram.

"Your technology is similar to my magic," Loki said simply.

Bruce turned his head and smiled at the god as if he had expected him to be there, "Little help?"

Loki pushed off of the table and went to look at what Bruce was showing him, "I keep having issues. I think this thing here is your magic, or at least a part of it but it's difficult to track."

"Can you see a similarity between Thor and I?" Loki asked.

"I was working on it but then everything was lighting up," Bruce frowned.

Loki furrowed his brow, "that's because everything has magic."

"Uh, I don't think so," Tony said as he placed his arm into the interactive arm program.

"Everything has magic, but only a few know how to work it." Loki explained further. "Higher concentrations of magic is usually what is being manipulated. I can sense it sometimes but not to a high enough degree to detect a portal somewhere in the city. Not with such a wide time line."

"Do you mind wearing those sensors some more?" Bruce asked. "We may get a better idea the longer you wear them.

Loki nodded.

"You know that you have pissed off Fury," Tony said.

Loki smirked, "I anger him simply by existing."

Tony smiled, "that's not a lie."

"Fury thought you left," Bruce told Loki, who was now fiddling with some mechanical parts.

Loki shook his head, "I preferred to keep to myself. If I don't want to be found then I won't."

"So you were in the tower this whole time?" Tony turned to look at him. "Jarvis couldn't even find you."

Loki smirked. He then turned to look at some of the things on the wall.

"Maybe you could teach me. I'd love to use it at Heff's." Tony grinned.

"Midgardians celebrate intelligence?" Loki questioned.

Bruce looked over to where Loki was and saw that it was a frame that Pepper must have hung of Tony accepting an award for some achievement before he created his suit. "More or less."

"You're looking at the two smartest people on the planet," Tony boasted. "How do you think I pay for all my stuff?"

"I thought you made your fortune-" Bruce began and laughed when Tony glared at him.

"Because you made yourselves stronger with your intelligence?" Loki asked again.

"Well…" Bruce frowned. "Not really, I mean I'm the forefront of gamma radiation and Tony does help the military develop amazing weapons. But there are others. Stephen Hawking can't even move and he is 'celebrated' quite a bit."

Tony looked up from his work and realized why Loki was asking, "Asgard doesn't celebrate intelligence, does it?"

Loki laughed darkly. "What you would call tactical planning and using one's head to insure success is considered trickery and deceitful."

"Your Dad didn't seem to put off by it," Bruce commented.

"He would prefer another strong son," Loki pulled away from the frame and began fiddling with other mechanics. Trying to discern for himself how they worked.

"Hungry?" Tony asked to change the subject. He chuckled when Loki perked up immediately. If he were to ever bribe Loki it would definitely be with food. "I think you missed out on pizza which you definitely need to try."

**Loki is really supposed to love food according to the actual Norse mythology :D**

**So hopefully I did my angry Thor okay. He seems to have a temper and a soft spot for Midgard. I am going to be kind of busy the next couple of days but hopefully I will get a chapter out by Friday. Somebody remind me XD**


	10. Sneaking Out

**I seriously did not mean to drop off the face of the Earth like I just did! The last two weeks have been nothing but events, presentations and finals! And when I had time to write, I just couldn't get a grip on the opening scene...hopefully I fixed it because I had to rewrite it like three times. Blegh! Thankfully one of my best buddies aa826 has been reminding me to post and making sure I haven't lost my mind when posting this chapter. :D**

Natasha slammed the door to the roof behind her. She was beyond pissed. She smacked her hand against the light switch and the lights came on around the pool. Natasha then stormed up to the pool and stared into it, half tempted to dive into it in her jeans and shirt.

"Bad day?" Loki's voice carried to her.

She looked around trying to find the god but couldn't see him. She sighed and just answered, "very." As soon as she did, Loki phased into view. He was sitting with his legs crossed next to the pool.

Loki toyed with the water in front of him, making it form into tendrils. "Me too."

Natasha stared at him. She had a feeling that this wasn't information that Loki generally volunteered. She watched him play with the water for a few moments when an idea struck her. She looked over her shoulder to the door she had just come in and then looked back to Loki. "Want to have some fun?"

Loki glanced up and tilted his head. He assumed she wasn't talking about the 'fun' he wanted to have but he wanted to know.

"It requires a bit of magic," Natasha smiled at him and glanced to the door again.

"What?" Loki's curiosity was definitely peaked.

"Get us out of this tower and I will show you around the city; have some fun; get out of this damned place," Natasha told him.

"I can go invisible. I can just follow you out." Loki told her.

"No, you can't." Natasha frowned. "Fury has deemed my identity a risk at the moment and wants me to stay here in the tower."

Loki smirked, "disobeying?"

Natasha crossed her arms and raised her brows as if to challenge him.

Loki smirked more and stood. He held out his hand for her.

Natasha eyed it and decided 'what the hell.' She took his hand and he took her to the edge of the roof. She looked down to the street and then looked back up to Loki.

"Try not to struggle," Loki said and pulled her into his arms bridal style.

Natasha didn't struggle. She didn't want to struggle. It was amazing how strong he felt and she became aware of how he had a sweet yet musky scent to him. Then he took a step forward. Natasha threw her arms around his neck and held on for dear life as he went over the edge. It took a moment for her to realize they were not falling and that Loki was calmly walking down the side of the building. She wasn't even being pulled down by gravity. She looked up to Loki.

"Magic boots," he explained. "Makes things easier without draining my magic."

"Next time mention it," Natasha frowned.

"What? And miss an opportunity to see Tasha nearly wet herself in fear?" Loki smirked.

Natasha swatted him. She looked around the city and then back to him, "Maybe we should be invisible?"

"We are," Loki told her.

"Then why can I see you?" Natasha asked.

"I hid us from everyone else, not from each other," he told her. She nodded and continued to hold on as he quickly made his way down the tower.

The second that Loki put Natasha down onto the ground, she took off. She wasn't sure what she was running from. It could be from Fury and his anger at her being found out. Or possibly from the god that was starting to become part of her everyday life. Maybe she was running to freedom.

Natasha stopped several blocks from the tower and tried to catch her breath. She looked around at the people who were staring at her. Apparently she was visible again. She wondered if Loki had just ditched her.

"Feel better?" Loki asked from behind.

Natasha turned to see Loki had changed his appearance to jeans, a t-shirt and shorter hair again. "Much."

"What now?" Loki looked around.

Natasha looked around and headed for a shop on the side of the street. Loki followed her in and was greeted by an interesting sweet smell. A few moments later she handed him a tan cone shape that had a pink ball of food on top.

"It's ice cream," Natasha licked at the brown 'ice cream' that she had on top of the cone. "Yours is cotton candy."

Loki gave her a quizzical look and tried the food. It was cold and possibly the best tasting thing he had ever had. He took a bite of it.

"Ooh, don't do that." Natasha winced. "Makes my teeth hurt."

Loki chuckled and did it anyway. He followed Natasha around the city. She showed him shops along the street, most of them were closing but Natasha didn't seem to be interested in actually going into the shops. Loki kept his eyes out for another one of the little ice cream shops but so far he had mostly seen clothing. He did make a mental note of some of the clothes so that he could blend in better.

They paused outside of a toy store that had already closed and Loki peered inside the window. It amazed him how many toys that the Midgardians had. He noticed that quite a few were for learning.

"Looking for something?" Natasha asked as she saw him standing on tip toe, which was almost comical in itself.

"Where are the weapons?" Loki asked.

Natasha blinked, "weapons?"

Loki nodded, "to train."

Natasha sighed. "Normal children don't train with weapons. They can take self-defense eventually though."

"Is that what you did?" Loki turned to her.

"I'm surprised Clint didn't tell you," Natasha stared into the window. She could see the little girls toys. "My childhood was somewhat different."

"He said you were trained as a super soldier in a special program," Loki told her.

"They start you out young," Natasha sighed.

"We started very young," Loki told her. "As soon as Father was sure that we could hold a pole."

Natasha didn't comment on Loki's use of 'Father' again. She just started to walk away from the shop, which Loki followed her.

"Thor and I were so different that he had other children train with us."

Natasha nodded, "The warriors three and Sif."

Loki nodded, "girls usually train in self-defense and combat to a certain age, but Sif made so much progress and was so determined that Father let her continue her training."

"Asgard is a bit backwards isn't it," Natasha commented. "Dainty women and all the strength."

Loki led them toward the towering trees that was central park. "It's not like that here."

It wasn't a question but a statement. Natasha caught herself wondering how different Loki would be if he were to have grown up on Earth instead. She sighed and decided to not think on it. She liked Loki well enough the way he was.

"Tasha?" Natasha looked up and saw Loki pointing, "What are those?"

She smiled when she saw what he was pointing at, "it's a playground. Also for kids." She let out a small giggle when Loki sprinted for the closest amusement.

He jumped up the steps and crossed the bouncy bridge which creaked underneath his weight. He leaned over the railings and stared at Natasha expectantly.

"You might want to get your ass off that, you're going to break it!" Natasha grinned.

"I am not that heavy!" Loki bounced, which made the bridge creak loudly.

"Get down!"  
"Make me!" Loki smirked and then darted off to the side. He was much harder to keep up with in the dark, especially seeing as the playground was not lit very well.

Natasha headed over to the slide and peered into it to see if he was trying that. Hands wrapped around her from behind and Natasha tensed.

"Did you get to play on these?" Loki asked from behind her.

Natasha's smile fell slowly. She didn't answer him but didn't pull away either.

Loki whirled her around and grabbed her hand, dragging the Avenger up onto the steps. He was grinning that mischievous smile and stopped on the bridge to bounce around.

"You're a dork," Natasha laughed. The bridge creaked underneath them but she bounced to appease the god. He was having way too much fun with this.

"Slide?" He grabbed her hand, "down this….thing." he gestured to the tube.

"It's called a slide," Natasha laughed.

Loki frowned, "you are an imaginative lot aren't you." He dived head first. His body jerked forward until all Natasha saw was his feet.

"You're stuck aren't you?" Natasha grinned broadly.

"No." Loki wriggled inside the tube but his knee was pressed up against one side and the tube turned too quickly for his tall frame. He sighed and used a bit of magic to make him slip through the tube.

Natasha clutched her sides as she saw Loki slip out of the bottom of the tube. He jumped up and dusted himself off. Quickly the god headed for another part of the playground. He jumped onto a swing feet first. Natasha followed and sat in the swing.

"I'm going to laugh when that breaks," Natasha told him.

Loki looked up at the chains holding the swing in place, "am I really _that_ heavy by Midgardian standards?"

"Yes," Natasha began to swing as well. "You guys weigh like three times as much as regular guys."

"How does Thor not kill Jane?" Loki snorted. Natasha raised a brow. "Thor likes to be on top."

Natasha rolled her eyes and grinned, "should I be worried that you know that?"

"I've lived with the ass for a thousand years," he swung higher. "I'm pretty sure he knows my habits too."

"Our books say you are sex-craved maniac," Natasha watched as he swung on by.

"Sounds about right," Loki smirked. "What about you? Any fun habits?"

Natasha grinned, "I get what I want."

Loki jumped off of his swing and turned to her, "what do you want?" He had a gleam in his eye that sent shivers down the red head's spine.

"I want to play on the merry-go-round," Natasha told him.

Loki blinked and then looked around, absolutely confused as to what it might be. Natasha smiled and got off the swing. She had been looking at the merry-go-round since they had gotten there. It was one of the things she had always wished she had gotten to do as a child. She headed for the metal contraption and Loki followed.

She got on top of the merry-go-round and looked around to make sure no one was watching. Natasha used one foot to move it and made it go around once. She smiled at Loki. He grinned back and got onto the merry-go-round as well. She laughed as the contraption groaned in protest and sank slightly under his weight.

"Hold on tight," Loki told her and he pushed off. She gripped onto the metal pole as they whirled around several times. She saw Loki gripping onto one of the poles as well.

"Again," Natasha grinned at him. It was as fun as she had always thought it would be. She gripped the pole as they went even faster this time. She slid down into sitting position and could see Loki grinning at her through her tendrils of hair whirling about her face. He always looked to her once they slowed waiting for instruction.

They slowed once again and Loki looked over to Natasha but she didn't answer. He tilted his head and asked, "again?"

Natasha shook her head.

"Tasha?"

"If we go again, I'm going to throw up," Natasha breathed and then laid down with her legs hanging off the edge.

Loki laughed and laid down next to her. His feet were planted firmly on the ground allowing him to turn the merry-go-round a bit. "Fun little thing."

Natasha nodded. She was looking up into the trees while waiting for her stomach to stop twirling.

They laid there for some time without saying a word. Loki continued to move the device around inch by inch, but didn't break the silence. It was comfortable. Natasha found herself wondering how long it had been since she had felt this comfortable. How long had it been since she was able to just lay down and not worry about what was going on around her.

"Loki?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can you….make it so that no one could see what I was doing? Even if I were to change things around me?" Natasha asked.

"I can put up an illusion," Loki told her, he turned his head so that he could look at her. Their noses were only an inch from each other.

Natasha grinned back at him, there was one other thing that she always wanted to do. She hopped up and tugged on Loki's hand. He was heavy but Natasha got him up. She dragged him across Central Park until they ended up in front of the lake.

She shivered in anticipation and looked back at him, "an illusion over the lake?"

Loki nodded and he raised a hand in its direction.

Natasha grinned and pulled her sneakers and socks off. She had enjoyed jumping into ponds and lakes in Russia during the summer months, but too often she found herself not in a position to do so as a Shield agent. She pulled off her top and tossed it with her shoes.

Loki was curious to what the Avenger was doing, more so once he realized she was stripping. He was also curious to know what the black undergarment was that she had underneath her shirt. It was definitely intriguing and Loki wanted to play with it. Natasha had her back to the god which did not give him a great view when she discarded the black fabric. But he was more than happy when she bent down to pull off her pants. Her ass looked even better than he had thought.

Natasha sprinted as soon as she was free from clothing and dived into the cold water. It was invigorating, the way the cold rushed over her, the feeling of freedom. Her head burst out of the water and she took several deep breaths of air. It was wonderful.

"Exactly what is this?" Loki's voice sounded.

Natasha turned and she saw Loki holding up her bra. "It's a device to keep my boobs nice and perky." She laughed at the look on Loki's face.

Loki fiddled with it some more and Natasha dived back into the water. _How to keep an Asgardian male busy: hand him female underwear._ She came back up to the surface and pulled her hair back out of her face. She looked around for the god. She frowned when she didn't see him. _Did he run off? Or did he just go back to the playground? …Did he run off with my bra?!_

Natasha was pulled from her thoughts when she was hit with a wave of water. She sputtered and looked for the god of mischief. A moment later he came up to the surface and pulled his own hair back. He grinned at her.

"I think your cannonball just knocked out half the lake," Natasha said dryly.

Loki tilted his head in question. "It's more fun to splash when you jump in."

Natasha rolled her eyes and began a backstroke. It was really dark out so she surmised that Loki couldn't see that much. She stared up at the night sky and let the water go into her ears. It was peaceful.

Twenty feet away, Loki watched her as she floated along in the water. He had snuck out of his room on many occasion to swim when no one was around. It always helped him when he was stressed over his brother's idiocy or when he couldn't perform a complicated spell. He wondered what was stressing the woman. He assumed it had to do with Fury confining the agent but he wondered if it was more than that.

It was quite some time later that Natasha became aware of how long she had been just floating along. And Loki had let her be: he deserved a cookie. Natasha smirked to herself at the image of him getting a cookie every time he did good. She swam over to the god who had his eyes closed. She couldn't see much but she could tell that he was naked as well. She was surprised she didn't realize it when he had jumped in. She poked him in his side.

Loki's eyes darted open and he pulled himself upright. "Having fun?"

Natasha nodded and splashed the black haired man. She was feeling rather childish lately. She blamed it on the god.

He grinned and reached under the water to tickle her sides. She thrashed away from the tickling and turned and tickled him. This made the god jerk slightly. She smirked deviously and tried again which made Loki poke her in the stomach.

"You're ticklish," she accused. She had drifted even closer to him without realizing it.

"So are you," Loki grinned at her.

She stared into those green eyes and wondered what else she didn't know about the god. "What are you so afraid of?"

"What?" Loki asked confused.

"Thor threatened you. He said he'd tell me something you were afraid of," She bobbed in front of him.

Loki shook his head, "why would I tell you?"

Natasha pursed her lips. She then floated closer and gripped his shoulders to keep her afloat. "Tell me and we can do something fun."

Loki chuckled at that, "not a chance."

"That scared of me?" Natasha grinned.

Loki didn't answer her, but instead smirked in that mischievous way. That infuriating smirk that Natasha hated. That smirk that drove her insane.

Her lips pressed up against his before she became aware that she had leaned forward. Those lips of his that were so sweet and were pressing back against hers. Those lips that parted so that he could kiss her deeper. Her right hand now gripped the base of his head as she battled for dominance in the kiss. It was intoxicating. He nibbled his way along her bottom lip which made Natasha gasp. Loki moved downward toward her neck.

Natasha blinked and felt shivers running through her. His tongue, teeth and lips were attacking her neck in ways that made her want to moan. She stared out across the lake as he continued his assault on her senses. She blinked. _I shouldn't be doing this. _She pulled back slightly, but Loki continued. _I shouldn't be doing this here. _She pulled back even further and Loki stopped and looked at her. _I shouldn't be doing this with him. _She took a deep breath and headed back to the shore.

The swim back seemed to take forever. She was waiting for Loki to catch up with her and continue their kiss. She didn't know if she could stop a second time and that scared her. She pulled herself out of the water and headed for her clothes. Natasha stopped when she felt a tickling sensation move across her entire body. She turned and looked for Loki to see what he had done but he was still in the water making his way to shore. She reached down for her clothes and began to put on her underwear and jeans. This was when she realized she was completely dry.

Natasha looked over to Loki pulling himself out of the lake. As soon as he stood he waved a hand and all the water pulled off of him and fell back into the lake. He looked to Natasha who made sure that she wasn't looking at his nakedness. The god did not disappoint in that category. Natasha turned and finished putting on the rest of her clothes.

"Need to get back?" Loki asked her.

Natasha nodded. She didn't look at the god. She could feel her heart beating fast and blamed it on the fear of what Fury would do if he realized that she had been out skinny-dipping at one in the morning.

The trip back was quiet. Occasionally Loki would ask about something in a store window that they passed by, but Natasha wasn't sure if he was doing it because he was curious or to break the silence. She answered him anyway. He stopped by the ice cream shop and Natasha had to drag him away because they were closed.

"I'll tell Tony to get you some ice cream, okay?" She pushed the god toward the Stark Tower.

Loki grumbled and dragged his feet. Not long after, they found themselves at the base of the tower. Loki didn't ask this time and just pulled Natasha into his arms. Natasha wrapped her arms around his neck and felt him begin to walk up the tower. She watched the ground get further away from them and tried not to pay attention to his arms holding her up or that scent that was undeniably Loki.

Instead of making it all the way to the top, Loki headed inside a window instead. She blinked as she adjusted to the darkness of the room. Loki set her down and the lights flipped on. Natasha looked around and realized they were in one of Tony's spare bedrooms.

Loki headed for the door as Natasha glanced around a bit more. She spotted an old tomb of a book on the dresser and a fur blanket on the bed. She was in Loki's room she surmised.

"Coulson is not out there but I can still form an illusion so he can't tell that we are leaving the room," Loki said as he held his hand against the door.

"Fury might watch the cameras, we better do the illusion," she stared at the bed for a second longer before joining Loki at the door.

It was uneventful getting to her room. There was no one awake and wandering about and if there were, Loki had his illusion up to hide them.

She half expected Loki to follow her into her room but he stayed at the door.

"If I knew which room was yours from the outside, I would have just dropped you off here," he told her.

"How often do you go out your window?" Natasha questioned.

"Whenever Coulson, Fury or Thor is hanging about," he smirked.

"Good night, Loki," She shook her head.

"Night, Tasha." She heard as she closed the door. She leaned against the door as she thought about how much she had wished Loki had followed her in.

***Gets down on knees* Please Review! I have the next two weeks off so hopefully I post quite a bit in that time. :)**


	11. Brotherly Love

**Hope you guys like this one :) I have a real treat coming up for you...which includes the fact that the next chapter will be posted later tonight.**

Fury and Coulson stepped out of the elevator to get some breakfast but stopped when they saw the dark haired Asgardian eating Fruit Loops in front of the television which was playing Fairly Oddparents of all things.

"Bit early for you, isn't it?" Fury frowned at the god.

Loki shrugged and continued to eat his cereal which Coulson noted was void of milk. Loki was entranced with the show which had the child wishing to be the strongest on the beach. Apparently the green haired and pink haired 'fairies' just made it happen.

Another ding from the elevator announced both Thor and Jane. As soon as Thor stepped out of the elevator he frowned at Loki and headed to get some food.

Loki raised a brow at Jane who bit her lip.

"You're awake early," she commented.

"He didn't sleep," Thor stated gruffly from the kitchen area.

"I had things to work on," Loki said simply. He decided to ignore his brother's anger. Whatever it was, he didn't care.

"Looking up spells you can't perform?"

Loki clenched his jaw and kept his eyes on the television. _Ah, the ass is still mad about me refusing to do the damned spell._

"Thor," Jane frowned at the blond god. Thor shook his head and headed for the elevator. He'd rather eat in his room than stick around Loki. He glanced at Jane but she headed for the kitchen instead. Thor frowned and headed into the elevator.

Just as the doors were shutting Loki called, "maybe if you thought more about the nine realms instead of this one, you'd be king by now."

A loud _thunk_ was heard from inside the elevator and they all turned to see Thor's hand come through the door and rip it open. Loki's hair rose a bit from the static in the air. "You want to see who is better?" Thor yelled as wind gushed and static sparked around him.

"Thor!" Jane called but Thor ignored her. "You're going to blow us out of the tower!" Thor turned to look and saw that the Midgardians were having a hard time keeping their footing with the wind.

Loki was now standing firmly in front of the couch. "Listen to your woman," Loki sneered.

Thor flew at his younger brother, taking him down to the ground. This wasn't tactical by any means, this was wrestling for power. They were on the floor rolling and throwing punches and kicks. Neither Asgardian stayed above the other long. They could hear Jane yelling at the two of them as they landed blows but both of them ignored her.

Suddenly the two were tossed apart. Loki looked up to see the iron man suit standing between the two of them, "quit destroying my tower!"

"He started it," Thor growled as he stood. He wiped his bloody lip.

Loki tilted his head, "I started it? You are being a vitskertr." He stood all the way up.

"Skreyja!"

"Daufi!"

"Oskilgetinn!" Thor roared.

Loki glared and his right hand glowed yellow. He pulled all the way back fully intending to punch the thunder out of Thor. Thor matched his punch, their fists meeting in the air. Tony was pushed back several feet by the force of the impact. He looked up to see both Asgardians staring at each other, their jaws clenched.

A few seconds later both of them began swearing in Norse as they clutched their right hands. Thor began shaking his hand as if to shake of the pain and Loki was cradling his.

"What did you do?!" Thor roared.

"Shut up!" Loki looked down at his hand. He was almost positive it was either jammed or broken. "It was a spell."

"You did it wrong!" Thor tried to wiggle his fingers but it hurt too much.

"Really?" Loki threw his head back as he tried to calm his nerves from the pain.

"You broke my hand!"

"GOOD!" Loki grabbed his index finger and pulled to straighten out his finger. There were several sickening pops and he turned paler.

"Let me guess, it was some technicality," Thor glared at him.

"Shut up!"  
"What was it?"

Loki pulled his middle finger into place. "I was to match the strongest person in the tower for strength. Either Bruce is not here or it only counts if he's green."

"You were going to use that strength on me?" Thor frowned at him.

Loki finished popping his fingers out and then his hand glowed a light blue. "Give me your hand."

Thor grabbed his hand and shook his head.

"hrafnasueltir," Loki frowned. He grabbed Thor's hand and jerked all the fingers at once while it glowed blue.

Thor smacked Loki with his left hand, "you did that purposefully!"

Loki rolled his eyes and began wiggling his fingers.

"What are you doing?" Fury eyed the god warily. He had his gun out since Loki's hand began glowing the first time. Coulson was by his side doing the same thing.

"Making sure our fingers work," Thor grumbled and wiggled his.

Loki wiggled his fingers in lewd ways.

"What are _you_ doing," Thor raised a brow.

Loki took a deep breath and looked to Jane, "why are you with him?"

"Is there a particular reason the elevator isn't working?" Darcy came up the stairs followed by Clint and Natasha.

"Sparky broke the elevator," Tony pointed to Thor.

Fury pointed with his gun, "because Chuckles taunted him."

Loki rolled his eyes.

"Did I just miss Loki getting his ass kicked?" Clint frowned.

Loki turned and started heading for the ass. He was in no mood to deal with the archer and he was either going to throw him out of the window or find a way to make it possible to control his mind again. The archer was reaching behind his back, possibly for one of his prized arrows.

Natasha threw something at Loki and the god caught it with his left hand. He looked down to see a red bag that read 'skittles' across it. Meanwhile, Natasha had her hand on Clint's forearm while speaking in his ear.

Loki assumed she was talking the archer out of trying to shoot him. He opened the bag that Natasha had tossed him and found some hard sweet smelling circles. He popped a few in his mouth. As he grinned at the newfound treat, Natasha grabbed Clint by the arm and was trying to lead him away from the god.

"I think we need more Scooby snacks like that," Tony quipped as the god happily munched on the candy.

"Only if it's poisoned," Clint glared at the god. Natasha frowned.

Loki tossed the skittles at Clint, who caught it before it hit his face. "If you wish to fight, then by all means. I won't hold back."

Clint took a step forward and Natasha pulled him back,

Tony, feeling much braver with his suit on again, moved up behind Loki and put his hand on the god's shoulder. "Let's go see Bruce."

Loki continued to stare down the archer and after a moment he headed to the stairs. Tony quickly followed him. Maybe Bruce was right, Loki may deem them 'friends' or at least good enough acquaintances that he'd occasionally listen to them.

Clint glared at the two as they left and jerked his arm out of Natasha's grip. He threw the skittles across the room in anger. "He's ready to attack and you give him skittles?"

Natasha crossed her arms, "he stopped and he would have left you alone if you had left him alone."

Clint made a noise of exasperation.

"Come on, let's go," Natasha went to grab his arm but Clint pulled away.

"I don't need to spar…..I need out of this damned building," Clint headed for the stairs.

Natasha started to follow but Coulson cut in front of her and shook his head, "I'll walk him out."

"Why skittles?" Fury asked as he put away his gun.

Natasha turned and raised a brow, "he has a sweet tooth. Thought I'd give it a try."

Fury turned to Thor, "and what in the hell was that?"

Thor shook his head and headed out of the room.

* * *

Bruce looked up from his computer to see Loki, completely disheveled, and Tony in his suit walk in. "Did I miss something?"  
"Just some brotherly love," Tony quipped. His faceplate pulled back.

"Huh," Bruce shook his head and went to get the sensors.

"Any chance you can fix my elevator?" Tony asked Loki.

Loki shrugged. "Probably."

Tony nodded. He waited a minute before asking, "do you guys normally try to kill each other?"

"Occasionally." Loki answered.

Bruce came back over with the sensors and motioned for Loki to take his shirt off. Loki obliged and leaned against the table, his hands gripping the edges. Bruce started sticking the adhesives against Loki's chest and arms.

"The magic may be powered by your mind but it seems it emanates from your entire body," Bruce explained as he put two sensors on either side of Loki's belly button.

He paused as he realized that Loki's abdomen had no scars or any indication that he had been run in by a sword recently. He looked up at Loki who winked at him. Bruce blinked and then shook his head as he quickly stood, "I was just-"

Loki gave him an obvious once over and smirked approvingly.

"No. no. no. no," Bruce held up a hand.

"Maybe this day won't be a complete waste," Loki continued to smirk.

"You realize the longer you mess with him the more likely he's going to hulk out, don't you?" Tony took off his helmet.

Loki laughed at the expression on Bruce's face.

"You were kidding?" Bruce asked.

"Was I?" Loki asked seriously.

"Brother?" Thor stepped through the door.

"Oh, joy," Loki muttered.

Bruce pulled out a tablet and began poking at it so that he could watch for Loki's magic.

"Can we speak?" Thor frowned and motioned to the door.

"No," Loki looked at the tablet. The Midgardians technology was quite intriguing.

Thor frowned and took a deep breath. "Father forbade the spell."

Loki glanced at Thor, "good."

Thor gave him a dirty look, "he said that you were more fit to be a king."

Loki looked over to Thor. _Ah, someone's ego got squashed._ He shook his head and started chuckling. "You are so easy to manipulate, it actually hurts."

Thor gave him a puzzled expression.

"He said that so you would do what he said," Loki smirked. "I assume he said this when telling you not to annoy me with the spell?"

Thor stared at him with indignation and then nodded.

"He holds the king thing over your head, doesn't he?" Tony asked as he removed more of his suit.

"Yes," Loki answered for him.

"What did Father talk to you about?" Thor asked him.

Loki shrugged, "the finery of sweets"

"Loki!" Thor frowned.

"Jane," Loki answered.

Thor blinked, "why?"

"I would think he'd get onto you about the 'Father' thing," Bruce looked at Loki who turned and gave him a malicious glare.

But Thor still took the bait, "why were you talking about Jane?"  
"She only lives 100 years," Loki told him.

Thor grimaced, "I don't care, I-"  
"Use it!" Loki told him. "She only lives 100 years. It's a minute to us AND to him. What's 100 years of time wasted with her? Why should it matter if you spend a mere 100 years WITH her?"

Thor paused as he thought on it, "exactly why are you helping me?"

"You have acquired a brain since she's come around," Loki pressed the screen and the screen honed in on his stomach. Bruce poked at it and fixed it.

Tony blinked, "You're saying he's smarter now?"

"Welcome to my life," Loki told him.

**Vitskertr: Short-wit**

**Skreyja: incompetent**

**Daufi: stupid**

**Oskilgetinn: born out of wedlock**

**hrafnasueltir: coward**

**So, as I said before, I am working on fixing my grammatical errors on the other chapter and then I will post it. After that I will get to work on the next chapter. It is done in my head but now I have to translate it to paper.**


	12. Cooped Up

**And to my wonderful readers: a second chapter! **

Natasha wanted to scream. To jump up and down, rip her hair out and scream from the top of her lungs. Instead she paced. She was going to make a rut in the damned room that Tony had designated as hers. It was designed to mimic her code name: black widow. Which the art had to be picked out by Pepper because it was sleek and beautiful abstract with reds and blacks. Though they were a tantrum away from being out the window.

The last three days had been nothing but irritating. Aside from Loki, everyone was allowed to leave the tower but her. Clint had taken full advantage of the situation and had hardly been seen in the last three days. After dealing with Loki he had practically vanished. This left no one to really spar with.

She had called Steve and even left him some text messages but the Captain had yet to answer. Bruce and Tony were busy going over the computers trying to find the wavelength or source of Loki's magic. They claimed they were close and continuously snagged the god of mischief away. At first Natasha had thought this a good thing. She didn't want to deal with him after she had kissed him, but now she had to deal with another horrible fact: she missed his stupid ass.

If she ever was alone with Loki then Thor showed up. Then it was a toss-up on who would dart of first, her or Loki. Natasha stopped in front of her dresser and picked up the flower that was wilted. She frowned at it and set it back on the dresser instead of tossing it in the wastebasket. _I'm losing my mind being cooped up here._

* * *

Loki pulled off one of the blackened sensors and handed it over to Bruce. Bruce sighed and held it up in the light. "Well, these are useless."

"You should have enough now, shouldn't you?" Loki questioned as he pulled the others off.

"Is that why you torched them?" Tony took one of them and eyed it.

"It was an accident," Loki shrugged. He leaned against one of the tables as Bruce tossed the sensors in the trash.

"Is your magic based on emotion?" Bruce asked.

Loki tilted his head and furrowed his brow.

"When you get angry, are you likely to use magic on accident?" Bruce offered.

"I was not angry," Loki sighed. "But yes, my magic is much more temperamental when I am."

"So, Thor pissed you off and you burned the sensors," Tony offered.

"No," Bruce and Loki said at the same time.

Loki glanced at Bruce, and Bruce sighed, "the sensors indicated that Loki was asleep before they…stopped working."

"Wait," Tony smirked. "Are we talking a nightmare?"

Loki rolled his eyes, "I don't get nightmares."

"Everyone gets nightmares," Tony told him. "Actually I've had at least seven involving me being tossed out a window."

Loki smirked.

"So," Bruce decided to change the subject. "So, it's possible that spikes in magic may just be you being emotional."

"Possibly," Loki tugged his tunic back on. "When I was small I would have to be calm to perform spells. Emotions made it more erratic. As I got older, I became more proficient. Though performing a spell when angry….could lead to possible side effects."

* * *

Loki flopped down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. They knew what had happened immediately. He had been asleep and then everything around him had gotten scorched. He had thankfully kicked off his fur blanket at the beginning of the nightmare but he had to use a spell to fix the bed. Lately, every time Loki fell asleep he would be back in that hell with Thanos looming over him. Thanos tearing him apart piece by piece. Thanos laughing. Loki sighed, it must be because he was feeling anxious that the evil bastard was due to be here in just four weeks. And that was _if_ Loki's calculations were correct.

The elevator dinged and he decided not to move. Darcy had been trying to get everyone to play this game with her call 'Dance, Dance' and he didn't want to deal with it. He could hear the fridge open and then someone cursing in a different language: Tasha.

Loki called over his shoulder, "there's the tiny cakes in the left cabinet."

Natasha made her way over and looked down at the god, "the _cupcakes_ are gone. Thor ate them this morning."

"We need more food then," Loki grinned at her.

"Maybe if you Asgardians didn't eat so much," Natasha turned and headed back to the kitchen.

"Are you angry with me?"

Natasha turned to see Loki had sat up to look over the back of the couch. "No." She turned again and went to get a sandwich.

"You're going to lie to the god of lies?" Loki questioned.

Natasha took a deep breath and turned, "Why do you care?"

Loki shrugged. "Considering there are only a few people in this tower that are willing to hold a conversation with me-one of them I can't stand and the rest are busy."

Natasha opened her mouth to answer but her phone buzzed. She looked at the text and then back at Loki, "consider me busy too." She headed out of the room without another word.

* * *

Natasha kicked the dummy that was in front of her and it flew several feet to her right. She clenched her fists and went to go get the damn thing. She stopped when she saw Loki leaning against the wall of the gym.

"I thought you were busy," Loki said.

Natasha pursed her lips, "Fury wanted to see me about a mission."

"And?" Loki tilted his head.

Natasha looked at him and shrugged, "I no longer protect you but I am to make sure you don't kill Clint."

"That's no fun," Loki smirked.

Natasha put the dummy back up and started to punch at it again.

"I assume also collect information on me?" Loki made his way over to the angry Avenger.

Natasha continued to punch the dummy, "If you could just give me a list of your greatest weaknesses and fears then I might be able to get out of this horrible fucking place."

Loki raised his eyebrows at her.

Natasha shook her head, she didn't want to explain this to him.

"You want to spar?" Loki offered.

"You hate sparring," Natasha sighed.

"No, I hate sparring with Thor," Loki began to circle her. "I will not do any magic."

"Going to take it easy on me?" Natasha frowned.

Loki shook his head, "no."

Natasha made her way to the god, laying into him with punches. He deflected most of them. She was certain that the few she did land didn't hurt him much. She kicked at him but he was able to deflect most of those too. It was almost like she was fighting against a moving dummy. Something that took her blows without her having to chase after it or worry about it breaking. She was able to attack him at full force which she enjoyed immensely.

Then he began to spar back. He fought smart, like she had seen him do with Thor. He wasn't out to throw wild punches hoping that he might land a hit. He would whip around blocking her moves until he found an opening and took it. When he took it she knew about it. He wasn't kicking at her, but landing punches only. And those punches hurt. Though when Natasha pulled back she realized that they should have hurt a lot more.

"You're taking it easy on me," she accused.

"I am matching your strength, Tasha." Loki informed her.

Tasha made a running jump, wrapped her legs around Loki's head and sent him to the floor. She smirked down at him. He smirked back up from the floor.

"I must say, that is possibly the best way to be thrown to the floor."

"Shut up," Natasha rolled her eyes.

Loki pulled himself up into sitting position and looked up at her. "I know of a better way to get rid of that stress."

"I'm sure you do," Natasha held her hand out for him. Loki took it and allowed her to help him off the floor.

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't extend that invitation to everyone," Loki told her.

"Our beliefs have you extending that invitation to anything that moves," Natasha grinned.

Loki shook his head.

The gym door opened, "hey Nat-"

Loki and Natasha turned to see Clint in his workout clothes. His hand went into his gym bag where Natasha knew a gun was.

"Thanks for sparring," Natasha told Loki.

Loki shrugged and headed for the door. He winked at Clint as he walked by which earned him a glare.

As soon as the door shut Clint turned, "You're sparring with him?"  
"I was sparring by myself and he showed up," Natasha told him. "What's wrong with sparring?"  
"He's the enemy," Clint frowned. "You don't show your best moves to the enemy."  
"He already knows my moves, my past and a bunch of other things thanks to you," Natasha bit out. She sighed and looked up at Clint who was glaring at her. "Sorry, I've had a bad day."

Clint shrugged, "Let's just spar or something."

Natasha crossed her arms, "Fury still won't let me leave. He thinks that the criminals in Manhattan know who I am because of the press footage from when SHIELD stopped."

"He told me," Clint frowned. "We need you to fight this upcoming war, Nat. We can't lose you to some idiot on the streets."

She pursed her lips. Sure it sounded like he was worried about her but it felt like they didn't think she could take care of herself. _Didn't I get the bad guys last time? All on my own! Well, Loki helped-But you don't know that!_

"Come on, let's train a bit," Clint smiled at her.

Within a few minutes, Natasha found herself having to keep herself in check. Clint was giving it his all but with hand-to-hand combat he was clearly outmatched. She wished she had sparred longer with Loki. That way she could get more of her pent up energy out.

She knocked Clint to the floor. He groaned before getting up and she realized the only way she was going to get rid of her pent up energy with Clint was to screw him. He was not challenging her enough here in the gym. Honestly, he wouldn't challenge her anymore in the bedroom but at least she would get what she needed out of it.

Anticipation began to drive her. That knowledge that she would be getting a release to her rage and frustration made her fight harder and longer. She was going to wear him out until he needed her like she needed him.

It was midnight when they realized how long they had been at it. Hours on end with nothing but combat. Sweat poured off of them. Clint's wiped his forehead and grabbed water out of his bag. He tossed one to Natasha. She grabbed it and they made their way out of the gym.

The walk to their rooms was filled with heavy breathing and the sloshes of water in their bottles. Clint started to pause at Natasha's room but she continued down the hall. They made it to his door and he opened it. Just as Natasha started to follow him he turned.

"Good night, Nat," he said and closed the door.

* * *

Natasha gripped the wall of the shower tightly and frowned. She honestly sucked at being able to do this herself. She moved her fingers against the bud which made her arch. But continuous rubbing did nothing but make her whimper with no sign of release. She sighed and gave up, now feeling more on edge that she did to start with.

She finished cleaning up and donned on a bathrobe. She contemplating trying to finish herself off again as she dried her hair. A few minutes later Natasha set the hair dryer aside and decided against it. If she tried again she would get more frustrated and end up in the gym again. She tossed the robe aside, enjoying the freedom of walking around her room nude. She had inspected the room countless times for cameras and had not found anything yet. Probably because Tony knew that all hell would break loose if she did find one.

The red head headed for the bed when something caught her eye: the black and red wilted tulip still lay on the dresser. Natasha picked it up and frowned. She tossed the flower into the wastebasket.

**Please review! I'll probably post tomorrow (hopefully) and if not it will be the next day. I hope you guys like these and the next one to come. :D**


	13. Wound Up

**My one and only warning: If you don't like graphic images...why in the hell are you reading my stuff? *Evil Laughter***

Loki's eyes opened slightly as he heard his door open. He didn't move. He preferred to have his would-be-attacker think him asleep. The door shut quietly behind the intruder, but from where he lay he couldn't see them. Then he heard tapping.

Loki pulled himself up, allowing the fur to fall down to his midriff. It was dark in the room but he could still tell that it was Natasha who stood in his room, tapping against his wall to awaken him. She had changed into her jumpsuit and smelled of sweet soaps.

Natasha had waited for her eyes to adjust before alerting Loki to her presence. She waited for the god to say something but he stared at her in silence. She stared back at him hoping he might say something, anything. But he continued to stare at her.

"Whatever happens," Natasha said quietly. "It doesn't leave this room."

Loki stared back at her without responding. He was waiting to see what she did.

Natasha pulled off her boots and then pulled the zipper of her jumpsuit down. She pulled off the jumpsuit slow. Loki watched in silence as she exposed herself to him. She was not wearing anything under the jumpsuit. Her creamy skin almost glowed as it was released from the black clothing.

The jumpsuit became a pile of black on the floor and Natasha looked at Loki waiting for a response. Loki merely pulled the blanket up inviting her into his bed. Part of her wanted to run and jump into that bed while another part was ready to run out the door stark naked. She breathed in and climbed onto the bed, moving as if to climb on top of the god.

Loki's lips caught hers immediately and he prevented her from climbing on top of him. She was not going to get it that easily. He smirked against her lips. No, he was going to toy with her until she was a writhing mess underneath him. Loki's hands took advantage of the situation and ran from her shoulders, lightly caressing, all the way down to her ass. He grabbed it, testing how rough she needed it.

Natasha's nails dug into the back of Loki's neck as he gripped her a little too rough. His hands moved on down to her thighs as he tested his roughness on her again. This time she made a noise as if she was biting back a moan. Loki kissed her harder. This wasn't a sweet kiss but one of dominance. He nipped and sucked on her bottom lip before continuing the kiss. As they continued he pushed her back into the bed.

Natasha pulled the god in more forcefully for the kiss when she realized her back had hit the bed. She wrapped her legs around his midsection and realized that Loki was already naked. Loki took Natasha's surprise as a chance to move his kisses to her neck. He moved to the delicious spot where her shoulder and neck joined and bit down. Natasha bucked against him and grasped his shoulders. He moved down her chest to her breast. Loki smirked at her and ran his tongue around her nipple. His hands grasped her hips to keep her in place as he teased her. Natasha arched her back and she ran her hand into his hair so that she could direct him where she needed him.

He almost chuckled at how forceful she was becoming. She needed this. He may be just an outlet for her frustration but he was going to make it where she couldn't stand. Without warning he took her whole nipple in his mouth. Natasha let out a moan and pulled his head against her which he allowed her to do. He whirled his tongue against it and nibbled. His hands scooted from their position on her hips down to grip her ass.

She was moaning now. Small quiet moans which she was trying her best to hold back. Natasha continued to pull on Loki's head, pushing his amazing mouth to her breast, and he devoured her. She spread her legs and bucked forward but Loki pulled his own hips back. She made a noise of frustration which was answered with by a chuckle.

After a whirl of his tongue, Loki moved on to Natasha's other breast. He twirled his tongue around her hard nipple and then blew on it. Natasha wriggled underneath him. He knew she was more than ready. His teeth grazed her nipple and he sucked. She bucked up against him again.

After another minute of torturous sucking, Loki began to drift downward. He nipped at the flesh and ran his nails down her sides. Loki tossed the blanket off the bed and then gripped her thighs and pulled them apart. Natasha was more than willing to allow him entrance at this point. Loki's fingers grazed her entrance which made the Avenger shudder. He leaned down and bit her upper thigh making her squirm. If she were any other woman, she would be begging by now. But Loki enjoyed her stubbornness. He wanted to watch as it fell to pieces while she rode release after release.

He continued to nip and tease the flesh which caused the woman to wriggle her hips slightly. He moved onto the other side and nipped and teased there as well. Natasha was trying not to squirm but it was driving her mad how close he was without touching. His hands gripped her outer thighs as he left a hickey on her upper inner thigh. Natasha gasped as she felt his tongue enter her with no warning. Her hips bucked on their own accord. Loki yanked her hips so that she was pulled forward so that he could devour her better. His tongue ran circles around her clit, teasing it as well. Loki nipped at her lips, sucking against them. Making sure to taste every drop of her.

The whole thing had Natasha rolling her hips. She needed release. She needed him to stop toying with her and make her come. She gripped the sheets as his tongue delved as deep as it could inside of her. Natasha reached down and entangled her fingers into those soft raven locks so that she could push his face against her core. He nipped at her lips when she did this. Natasha answered him by bucking her hips. Then she moaned as his mouth covered her clit completely. His tongue whirling around it and then flicking over it.

Her hips were now moving on their own. A slight up and down motion as he lapped at her juices. And then his mouth was gone. Natasha looked to him to see the god licking his lips and smirking at her. He grabbed her leg and with his other hand he shoved two fingers inside of her. Natasha bucked against them. Her whole body was begging for something inside of her and he had finally answered.

She moaned as he shoved his fingers in and out of her. Loki could feel her walls tightening against his fingers. He could tell she was close just by how much she wriggled underneath his touch. He wriggled his two fingers inside of her, pushing them all the way in. When he saw her bite her lip he pulled his hand away.

"Loki!" Natasha reached down for his hand.

"Hmmm?" Loki smirked at her. She was wound so very tight.

Natasha made a noise of frustration. She wouldn't beg. If she had to she would climb on top of the god but she wouldn't beg. She reached down between her legs and put her own fingers inside of her. Loki tilted his head as he watched her for a few strokes and then he swatted her hand away. He chuckled at her glare.

Loki gripped her hips and bent down to lick her clit again. Natasha's hips rose off the bed to greet that mouth of his. He grabbed Natasha's hand and sucked her juices off of her fingers and then went back to the source. Her fingers found their way back into his hair as he continued lapping up her juices. He then nipped at her folds and shoved his fingers inside of her.

Natasha's eyes widened and she bit her lip nearly drawing blood. Loki scissored his fingers inside of her, while his tongue flicked over the increasingly sensitive bud. Natasha's grip tightened on Loki's hair and she pulled. She wasn't letting him stop this time.

Nails dug into the sheets as heat rolled over her. Her toes curled and she bucked against Loki's ministrations. Her head tossed back and she held back a yell. Loki began to pump his fingers into her quicker and rougher. Natasha clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. He was stretching out her orgasm. Her other hand found a pillow and shoved it in front of her face.

Loki threw her leg over his shoulder and pumped his hand into her knowing that it would make her release over and over again. Natasha didn't disappoint. Her juices covered his hand as she held the pillow over her face. Loki smirked knowing that she was close to screaming. He bent down and engulfed her clit with his mouth as he continued pounding his fingers in and out of her.

Natasha gripped the pillow hard as her hips bucked forward. She screamed into the pillow. Quickly followed by another scream. Loki toyed with her insides, making her squirm and writhe. Her entire body was begging for his touch and all she could do was hold on as loud moans and screams poured out of her.

Loki pulled back and took his fingers out of the woman. He licked his fingers and looked down at Natasha who still had the pillow clutched over her face. Loki used his other hand to toss the pillow across the room. He chuckled. Natasha ran her hand that had been clutching the pillow through her hair. Her other hand was gripping her own breast. She breathed heavily and her eyes were hooded.

Loki ran a finger over her slit which made Natasha buck and moan. He shoved his fingers back inside her all the way to the knuckle. Natasha let out a yell at the sudden intrusion. Her walls clenching against Loki's fingers. Loki smirked. She was more than ready for him and he was going to enjoy every moment of it.

Natasha took a deep breath. Her legs were tingling from her last orgasm. Loki was still looming above her and she wasn't sure if she had another orgasm left inside of her. She blinked as she felt the heat of Loki's body on top of her. He kissed her and she could taste herself on his lips. Loki then nipped at her neck as he positioned himself on top of her, ready to enter. Natasha blinked as she realized they hadn't even started on the actual sex.

She reached out for the pillow but couldn't find it. "I need-"

Loki raised a brow, he honestly thought she'd last until he was inside of her.

"Pillow," she gasped. Loki shook his head, that thing was long gone, "they'll hear..."

Loki smirked and leaned down to her ear, "no they won't."

Natasha furrowed her brow until her sex-addled brain registered that he probably did a spell. She had barely come upon that realization when Loki thrust himself inside of her. Her scream and clenching walls had Loki gripping the sheets. He clenched his teeth as Natasha's orgasm finished. It had been some time since his last encounter.

As soon as he was sure he wasn't going to embarrass himself, Loki began thrusting into her. Natasha had been wound so tight and pulled apart by his ministrations such that she was now a writhing mess underneath him. Her walls clenched him and he was able to pull screams out of her still. He kissed her roughly, silencing one of her delicious screams. It was just as erotic to him to feel her screaming against his mouth. Her nails found their way into his back and he shoved himself into her even harder. He loved nails. Their way of tearing at his flesh: a sweet bite of pain.

Natasha gripped his back with all her might. She felt him grab her leg and toss it over his shoulder. She bit down on his shoulder as he fucked her harder. She gasped and looked up at him. She could see his teeth clenched and she recognized the look. With all her might she clamped her inner muscles against him. Loki's eyes widened and he slowed his pace slightly. Natasha smirked and bucked her hips while tensing the same muscles. He growled and slammed his cock into her as hard as he could making the woman let out a wanton scream. His teeth grazed her shoulder and he continued to pound into her.

Natasha dug her nails into Loki and gasped against his shoulder. She clenched her inner muscles again and Loki bit her shoulder hard. She should have screamed in pain but the continued pounding had her whimpering at the assault on her senses. The pain from her shoulder felt almost pleasurable at this point. Natasha wrapped her legs around the god and bucked her hips up again and tightened the muscles.

Loki's breathing became ragged and she knew he was over the edge. He was at the point of no return. With a growl, Loki thrust deep inside of her. Natasha moaned as she felt the heat rush inside of her from his orgasm. She gripped his shoulders as the heat sent her over the edge one last time.

The room was filled with heavy breathing and smelled of sweat. Neither of them wanted to move. Loki lay on top of Natasha, most of his weight supported on his elbows and knees. After several minutes she grunted at his excessive weight and Loki rolled off and fell against the sheets next to her.

Natasha tried to move one of her legs but decided it wasn't worth it. She glanced over to Loki who folded his arms behind his head. His breathing was starting to even out. His eyes were hooded. Natasha mentally congratulated herself on being able to keep up with a god. Natasha moved one of her legs to a more comfortable position, wincing as she did it. She heard Loki chuckle beside her.

"Shut up," she groaned.

"Feel better?" he smirked at her.

"Maybe," Natasha grinned. Her entire body thrummed from the attention she just received.

Loki smirked at her. He watched her close her eyes and soon after her breathing regulated. He felt a surge of ego on being able to make Natasha so satisfied she slipped into unconsciousness. Though if he had had his way he would have lasted a bit longer.

Loki hadn't had a chance to have sex in the last two years. He didn't want to do it while masquerading as his father, before that he was in prison, before that he was waging war on Midgard, and before that he was in Hell.

He glanced at the redhead next to him and decided when they went at it again he'd be more prepared.

**I hope you enjoyed. You review and maybe I'll write another smut filled chapter sooner :D**


	14. Sleepless Nights

**Got an amazing review from a guest: A giant chocolate Loki for you! I was actually feeling bummed because I was worried no one liked my smutty-smut. Anywho-Here's the next chapter. I will try to get another one out this weekend. **

Natasha let out a small sigh and nuzzled into the pillow. She pulled the comforter over her naked body and curled up into it. She didn't want to wake up, not yet. She wanted to stay in her comfy bed and not face reality; not deal with the repercussions of her actions from the night before.

Several minutes later she realized that her need to go to the bathroom could not wait. She groaned and tossed her leg outside the warm covers. She immediately regretted it. Her muscles ached all through her body, focusing on her core.

She let out a groan and pushed herself into sitting position. She figured Loki would find it hilarious how sore she was. Natasha ran her fingers through her hair and looked around. She was in her own room, not Loki's. She looked around and saw that her jumpsuit had been tossed onto her dresser. _Guess Loki doesn't like dealing with the morning after talk._ She stretched her sore muscles and got up to go to the bathroom. Natasha grinned to herself, she didn't like dealing with the morning after either.

The shower was hot; steam filled the bathroom as she scrubbed her body wash over her sore muscles. She hummed to herself as the cloth ran over her skin. Even though she was sore, she felt amazingly relaxed. The sex had managed to remove all that tension from her body and then some. It had been some time since she had an encounter as fun as that one. Usually it was in and out for her. She got what she needed and then it was over. If it was for a mission then she made it where they would talk-her needs were of no priority.

Natasha turned off the shower and pulled the curtains away. The bathroom was filled with steam as if it were a sauna which just made the woman smile. She dried herself off and then used to towel to wipe a part of the mirror off. Her face immediately fell. She was expecting the little blue marks on her arms and torso: bruises from the god's fingertips. Hell, she was positive there were two huge bruises on her ass from when Loki first grabbed it. But she wasn't expecting the bright red bite mark that was on her left shoulder. She leaned forward and could see the skin around it had bruised.

"Well, no tank tops for a while," she said quietly to herself.

* * *

Natasha pushed the button to the elevator and then remembered that it was broken. She shook her head and started for the stairs when she heard it ding behind her. _I guess Tony already fixed it._ She took the elevator up and waited for the doors to open.

"You act as if you are dying," Thor threw his hands up just as the elevator opened. He turned to see the red head. "Lady Natasha, you are well?"

Natasha furrowed her brow and looked to see Clint holding his stomach in pain. "What happened?!" She stepped out of the elevator and looked around.

"Him!" Clint jerked his head to Loki who was perched on the back of the couch grinning.

"Oh, just because I am enjoying it immensely does not mean it is my doing," Loki smirked.

"Are you all right?" Fury eyed Natasha who had stepped out of the elevator. He was standing by the window with Coulson next to him.

"Why? What's going on?" Natasha eyed him.

"He ate Thor's cooking," Pepper told her from the counter. Jane stood next to her sipping on a soda.

"_Cooking. _Sure, that's what _you_ call it," Clint groaned as he clutched his stomach.

"We were worried that you had tried Thor's cooking as well," Fury answered Natasha.

"I told you that she didn't," Clint groaned again.

"I can heal you, you know," Loki smirked.

"Nope, I'll just die," Clint shook his head.

Thor looked to Natasha, "As a general rule, I worry when anyone sleeps later than Loki. They are usually sick."

Natasha blinked and pulled out her phone to see the time: 1:08.

"Are you well?" Thor asked.

"Well, she didn't eat your breakfast," Loki quipped.

"It is not that bad," Thor growled.

"Yes it is." The entire room answered him.

Natasha rubbed her temple, "Clint, let him heal you."

"He's not touching me," Clint glared at the god. Loki gave him a seductive wink. "Make that a 'hell no'."

"Loki," Natasha frowned. "Heal him and I will give you….a cookie."

Loki raised his brows. "Um, no."

"So much for the sweets theory," Fury muttered. Coulson sighed and shook his head.

"I'm just going to go vomit in my room," Clint pulled himself up.

Natasha watched him leave. She turned to Loki, "chocolate? Cake? What?"

"I do not have that much of a sweet tooth to get an arrow in my ass," Loki told her.

"I know of several occasions when precisely _that_ has happened," Thor said.

"At least _I_ didn't almost lose my 'thunder' trying to get the last smoked rib," Loki grinned.

"We are not talking about that."

Natasha frowned and then turned to Tony who was sipping his protein shake, "Would you be willing to get several gallons of ice cream?"

Tony shrugged, "yeah, I suppose."

She turned back to see Thor's face turning red as Loki laughed. "Hey, god of stupidity." Both gods furrowed their brows and looked at her. "Oh wow, you both looked."

Loki sighed and shook his head while Thor frowned.

"Ice cream and lots of it?" Natasha tried.

Loki sighed again and hopped off of the couch. "Let's go then."

Natasha grinned and headed after him.

Thor looked around, "I want strawberry."

* * *

It was a short ride in silence down to the floor where their rooms were. She headed on out of the elevator and Loki trailed behind her. He hadn't bothered to figure out where the archer resided. They stopped outside of a door and Natasha knocked on it three times. She waited for a minute before trying the handle. It was open and she let the both of them in. Loki chose to lean against the wall as Natasha knocked on the door leading to the bathroom.

"Clint?" She called. She grimaced when she heard Clint emptying his guts in the bathroom. She glanced at Loki who was also grimacing.

"W-what?" Clint called back after a minute of retching.

"I brought Loki," Natasha called to him.

"Good, I need something new to vomit on," Clint wheezed.

Natasha nudged the bathroom door open with her foot and she and Loki saw Clint sitting in front of the toilet, propping himself up with it.

"He can make it stop," Natasha told Clint.

"Sort of," Loki frowned at the smell.

"What do you mean sort of?" Natasha turned.

"It's in his stomach," Loki told her. "I can make it so he's done in five minutes but he's got to expel that from himself."

"So more vomiting," Clint let out a small burp. "Giant 'no' to that."

"It can go out the other way if you prefer," Loki shrugged.

"Are you talking like a binge on Taco Bell?" Clint eyed him.

Loki blinked and looked to Natasha for clarification but she just shook her head. "I mean to expel if from you're a-"

"Okay," Natasha cut Loki off. "But he'd be okay in a couple of minutes?"

Loki eyed him, "three….give or take."

"I don't want to throw up," Clint groaned: the bile was rising fast. He looked over to Natasha and she had that look on his face that meant she was going to give him hell if he didn't agree. He really didn't want Loki anywhere near him, especially didn't want the god doing magic on him. Saliva pooled in his mouth, "Just get it over with."

Loki walked forward and his fingers glowed green.

"No crazy words?" Clint grunted when Loki poked him in the stomach. "Oh I'm so shooting you for that." He grabbed his stomach in pain.

Natasha eyed Clint and then Loki.

"It will hit strong, but it will be over quick," Loki said and headed on out.

"Get some rest," Natasha smiled at Clint and made sure to close both doors when she left. She made it to the elevator just as it arrived for Loki.

"What kind of ice cream did you have?" Loki asked her when the doors shut.

"Chocolate," She answered as she pushed the button to head back to the penthouse.

"I want that," Loki told her.

"I was thinking of having you try Chocolate Chip Mint," She said. "Or possibly Cookie Dough."  
"Cookie dough?" Loki furrowed his brow. He'd had cookies and their batter before they were served, but he wasn't sure how that translated to an ice cream.

"What?" Natasha grinned. "Don't trust my judgement?"

Loki smirked, "Not after last night, I don't."

Natasha's grin fell. "Jarvis can hear you."

Loki rolled his eyes, "Not if I don't want him to."

Natasha raised a brow.

"Generally when women say not to speak about it ever again, I get an earful the second we are alone," Loki told her.

Natasha glanced to the floor number and saw that they were stuck between floors: Loki's doing no doubt. "…and generally I get the guy coming back and telling me how he never meant to hurt me."

Loki glanced at her and she caught his eye. They both chuckled.

"A legitimate no-strings-attached," Natasha grinned. "Long over-due."

"That's for sure," Loki flicked his hand and the elevator started to rise again.

* * *

_Fingers gripped his hair. Loki gritted his teeth as what was left of his scalp screamed in agony. The blood was dripping down his hairline into his face. Blood clouded his vision. He couldn't see the creature in front of him, but that might be a blessing in disguise. _

_The strange language of the creature was nothing but dull noise against the jagged flesh where his ear had been. Something was shoved across his mouth. It tasted of metal and blood. His tongue flicked over it and he knew it was a dull blade running across the whole of his mouth. He blinked and blood was pushed away, he could see one of the creatures in front of him. It was talking to him. He tilted his head so that he could hear with his good ear. _

_The blade sliced across his entire mouth. Loki struggled against the creature behind him but it held tight. The blade sawed across Loki's mouth, ripping it open. Blood gushed down the sides of his mouth as well as into his mouth making the god almost choke. But the creatures wouldn't allow that. One final yank and Loki's mouth was ripped open all the way back to his molars. Blood mixed with bile shot through his mouth. The bile stung against his new wounds making the god shudder. _

"_Silver tongue," the creature spoke in its language. Loki was pulled back against the creature. The creature gripped Loki's hands which were chained behind the god's back. "Silver tongue. Silver tongue." The creature grabbed Loki by the jaw making him cry out. "Where is the silver tongue?"_

_Its fanged mouth descended on Loki's in a grotesque kiss. Loki pulled back but the creature pushed forward as it pulled Loki's jaw down. Loki's mouth was pulled open as far as it could with his new wounds. The creature's fangs found Loki's tongue and bit down hard. Loki screamed against the pain. He could hear the creature chewing. Hear it slurping up his own blood. It was eating his own tongue while it was still in his mouth. _

_The creature pulled its head back and Loki could feel the pull and the sickening sound of muscles detaching as his tongue was ripped from his mouth. _

Loki jerked up in his bed. His eyes darted wildly around the room as he breathed heavily. He tilted his head and listened into the silence. There were no alarms, no ringing, and no spell alerting him that he was in danger. Loki swallowed against the lump in his throat and glanced at the window: it was closed. After regaining his breath, Loki tossed his covers aside and made his way to the bathroom.

Cold water didn't seem to help. Loki splashed more against his face but every time he closed his eyes he saw that creature. He took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. His eyes had bags underneath them. He sighed and shook his head. Last night was the first time he had gotten any real sleep and it was because he had been exhausted after Natasha.

Loki headed back to his bed but didn't lay down. Instead he stared at it. He knew damn well he wasn't getting back to sleep anytime soon. What was the point of just lying there yet again? Loki sighed and tossed on the sweat pants that the Midgardians had gotten him. Maybe eating the last of the ice cream would distract him from his 'nightmares.'

Loki headed out of his room and to the elevator. He wished these were nightmares. Nightmares were the horrible dreams you would come up with as you slept. Dreams that he used to get as a child. But these were so much worse. They were memories; memories that replayed themselves to him during night. As Thanos' arrival loomed closer, the more the memories seemed to haunt him.

Loki headed out of the elevator. He eyed the window as he passed it. The god knew that no one could see him due to his spell but he decided to stay away from it for the moment. He stopped as he saw Tony and Bruce eyeing Bruce's tablet while sitting at the bar. There was a gallon of ice cream in front of them with several toppings all around the counter. They both looked up as he approached.

"Ice cream?" Tony offered. "I know you were trying to eat your weight in it earlier."

"What kind?" Loki sat on one of the stools. Tony had already started on making him bowl knowing that the god was going to eat whatever they gave him.

"Mint," Tony finished scooping and slid the bowl over to the god. He raised a brow as he noticed that Loki had dark shadows underneath his eyes. Something that wasn't there earlier that evening.

"You all right?" Bruce asked Loki. Loki looked up and within seconds the shadows disappeared.

"What are you working on?" Loki asked instead of answering.

Tony cleared his throat. "It's the same thing as before," He pointed to the tablet. "We think we have it down know minus a few kinks. Should have it up and running by tomorrow hopefully."

"Kinks?" Loki asked.

Bruce tapped the screen with his stylus, "the program registered a surge in magical energy about twenty minutes ago. Not sure what that was about-"  
"That was me." Loki looked down and started to eat his ice cream.

"Then there's one less kink," Tony grinned. "Yay us!"

Bruce frowned and eyed the god. "What were you doing, a spell?"

Loki glanced up, "meditating."

"At two in the morning?" Tony blinked. "I'd fall asleep."

"I prefer not to be bothered. Thor likes to bother me in the daytime," Loki said simply.

Both scientists paused.

Tony shook his head, "Can you imagine him in the lab?"

"I can," Bruce scratched the back of his neck. "Because he came in one day. Wanted to know what delta meant and what the 'strange liquids' were. He poked everything."

Loki smiled, "You have to set up traps to make him stop."

"Traps?" Tony asked.

"I put a spell on my bag because he kept getting into it," Loki explained. "So if anyone but me opens it they aren't going to be happy about it."

"Loki's bag of tricks," Tony nodded.

Loki raised a brow, "Did Thor tell you about that?"

"No," Tony shook his head. "Common knowledge. By the way, have you googled yourself yet?"

"Googled?" Loki blinked.

"No," Bruce shook his head. "No googling."

"So you know of the bag?" Loki asked them and they both nodded. "Then maybe I can see if I won the bet."

"What bet?" Bruce frowned.

"Thor, Sif, the warriors three and I made a bet when we visited Midgard about 500 years ago or so," Loki told them.

"You visited here before?" Tony raised a brow.

Loki nodded, "It was a lying competition."  
"Of course it was," Bruce grinned.

"Thor tried to convince everyone that vegetables were bad for them, he failed." Loki listed off. "Sif tried to convince them that anyone who lay with me would die because I would kill them….That one eventually failed."

Tony laughed and scooped more ice cream for himself.

"I told everyone there was a monster in this Loch," Loki told them.

Bruce choked on his ice cream. "The Loch ness monster?"

"You are an evil bastard," Tony grinned.

"So that one took?" Loki smirked.

"What about the others?" Bruce asked.

"Volstagg tried to convince them they needed to feed him to keep the gods happy," Loki smirked. "and Hogun told everyone that Sif was a Nymph."

"Didn't get too far?" Bruce grinned.

"Sif threatened to stick her sword down someone's throat within an hour," Loki laughed. "But Fandral's lie was the worst."

"What was his?" Tony grinned.

"So the ass was mad at me because he had gotten drunk a fortnight before this," Loki scooped some more ice cream. "In jest, I try to get him to steal my father's horse."

Bruce's smile faltered slightly.

"Apparently, me telling him how beautiful the animal was didn't lead him to stealing it and he now blames me for 'convincing' him to lay with a horse." Loki dumped a lot of sprinkles on his ice cream and didn't notice the two scientists glancing at each other. "So, to get back at me he tells the villagers that I had lain with a horse as a female horse." Loki took a bite. "And that's not the worst part."

"Let me guess," Tony said. "He told everyone you mothered an eight legged horse."

Loki stopped dead and his eyes widened.

"Glad to know that one isn't true," Bruce snorted into his ice cream.

"I am going to murder him," Loki snarled viciously.

Tony laughed. He knew he shouldn't but he couldn't help it. Both Bruce and Tony stared at him.

"Okay, I can make fun because he can't kill me as far as I know," Bruce said. He glanced to Loki who shrugged.

"Do you have any other kids?" Tony laughed. "Because our legends say you have a ton. And I think they are all animals."

Loki blinked, "That's why Tasha was asking if I had kids."

Tony laughed again.

Loki glared at him, "You're lucky I like you."

"Better warn Pepper," Bruce smirked.

Loki tossed his arm around Bruce, "Why? It's more fun to bother you."

* * *

Loki collapsed onto the bed. He didn't even bother to take his pants off or to climb under the blankets. It would be a futile effort. There was no chance he was going to fall back asleep. Not when that creature stared at him every time he closed his eyes. Not when he could still hear his tongue being chewed on. He stared at the ceiling. Stared at it like he had for so many nights before.

**Tom Hiddleston confirmed that Loki had been in a Hell when he was gone between Thor and the Avengers. In my head, he hid on the outskirts until Thanos found out about a powerful sorcerer in his realm. Then he 'convinced' Loki to work for him. **

**Again-I love reviews. they make me all the happys and I like being happy :D**


	15. The Best Way to Wake Up

**I hope you guys like :D Thank you LovesDragon for the review. **

**I apologize for taking so long on posting this. I just started a new job and am now working 40 hours a week. So my time is a little more constrained. I do have the next chapter almost ready to go-someone remind me to post tomorrow XD**

Loki had given up on sleeping around ten that morning. Instead he was sitting on the couch flipping through channels while his brother was arguing with him on what to watch. He kept reaching for the remote but Loki held it out of his reach. He was half tempted to toss it at Thor seeing as the elder brother wasn't very good at using it anyway.

"Turn it back to the fighting channel," Thor tried to grab the remote from him.

"No," Loki grumbled as he held it out of reach. He aimlessly flipped through the channels.

Thor leaned across the younger god and snatched it away from Loki. Loki sighed and watched as Thor's smile of triumph fell into a look of confusion.

"How is it that I have been here for less time and I know how to work that better than you," Loki frowned. He really was in a bad mood.

"I was otherwise preoccupied with things," Thor grinned to himself.

Loki leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He may just take the nightmares over dealing with his brother right now.

"Are you alright?" Thor questioned. Loki was obviously agitated. He also was not usually one to pass up a conversation on intercourse.

"Tired," Loki answered without opening his eyes.

Thor turned the channel back to the fighting. "Go back to sleep then."

Loki opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling but didn't respond. Thor glanced over at his brother but didn't say anything. Loki wasn't exactly one to volunteer information. If Loki wanted him to know what was wrong he would hint at it later.

"I need a favor," Thor began. Loki tilted his head slightly to show that he was listening. "My bed broke."

Loki snorted and began laughing. It may have been the lack of sleep but it struck him hilarious.

"It is not that funny," Thor grinned. He was impressed with himself even though it was probably the Midgardian's weak beds that led to it.

"How is Jane faring?" Loki laughed.

"Jane wishes that I don't ask for your help," Thor looked around but the woman was nowhere to be seen.

"Answer me this: how did you break it?" Loki turned to grin at Thor.

Thor looked around before turning to Loki. "We tried to do it against the wall but I tripped and we fell on the bed."

Loki clutched his sides as he roared with laughter.

The elevator dinged and it opened to show Natasha and Clint. They both raised a brow at the two gods as they headed for the breakfast area.

Thor smacked Loki which only made the younger god laugh harder.

"Did you break him?" Natasha asked as she made her way over to the counter. She needed coffee and bad.

"We can only hope," Clint muttered as he followed Natasha.

Loki pulled himself up off the couch and grinned at Thor. Thor frowned and watched his younger brother head for the elevator. "NOT A WORD."

Loki gave his infamous smirk just as the elevator doors shut.

"Okay, now I'm curious." Clint grinned over his mug of coffee.

"It is nothing," Thor said though his cheeks were slightly red.

Natasha opened her mouth to respond but she felt a vibrating coming from her hip. She grabbed her cell and looked at it. She didn't recognize the number. "Hey."

"Nat?" Steve's voice sounded.  
"Well if it isn't our favorite renegade fossil," Natasha grinned.

"Ha ha. Look I lost my cell phone-"  
"Lost it?" Natasha took a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah, in the Black Sea," Steve sighed. "I just got a new phone."

"Are you heading this way?"  
"Depends, what way is that?"

Natasha sighed, "You need to come to Stark tower."

"Bad stuff?" Steve asked.

"Interesting stuff," Natasha said.

"Sounds like fun," Steve sighed. "I'll take the next plane there."

"Steve?"

"What?"  
"When you get here, you call before you come inside," Natasha told him.

"That bad?" Steve asked.

"That interesting," Natasha answered.

* * *

Loki grunted and rolled around in the blankets. He curled up against a pillow and propped his head up with his arm. A few minutes later he grumbled and rolled over again.

He had been trying to fall asleep for the better part of an hour to no avail. He sighed as he realized he might actually be too tired to sleep. Loki pulled himself off of the bed and started to pace. He could practice magic but that may end up badly if he fell asleep during a spell. He could meditate but the last time he did that he nearly sent a fire ball across the room when his mind lingered in his memories. He could also bother Tony and Bruce but he didn't really want to put clothes on. He could watch TV but he had no idea what he did with the remote.

Loki began looking around for the damned object. By the time he found it in one of his drawers, he realized he didn't want to watch TV. He sighed and sat down on his bed. His eyes paused on his Midgardian sweat pants. He was becoming really fond of the garment. He tossed them on and his boots before thinking about where he was going. He then headed out the window.

Natasha flipped through the channels aimlessly. She had finished sparring thirty minutes ago with Clint. When they were done Clint had paused at her room again as if to make sure she didn't follow him to his room. _No problem there._ Natasha frowned in irritation. She shouldn't be angry at Clint, she really shouldn't. But twice in a row was a bit much. Natasha reminded herself that she couldn't have gone with Clint anyway. Her body was bruised from Loki's touch. And it would be awkward at best explaining that bite mark, especially seeing as she wasn't supposed to be leaving the tower.

There was a knock on the window which made Natasha furrow her brow. After a few more taps, the window opened on its own. Loki slipped right on in and sat on the desk that was underneath the window.

"What do you want?" Natasha frowned.

Loki tilted his head, "What? You are the only one allowed to be frustrated?" He waited for Natasha to catch his meaning.

Natasha raised her head slightly, "And if I said no?"

Loki frowned and let out a sigh. "Then I guess I might go try that game Darcy keeps going on about."

The corner of Natasha's lip twitched upward and she walked to Loki. "Well, we can't have that." She walked on by him and shut the window. Loki reached and grabbed her hand to pull her to him. Natasha pulled away. "I just finished sparring. I need to clean up."

Loki raised his brows, "I come from Asgard; sweat is the normalcy."

Natasha smiled. Loki pushed off of the desk and headed for Natasha. "Is Asgard the home of sweatpants and boots too?"

Loki looked down and then shrugged, "they are comfy." He slid his hand up to her jawline and leaned down to kiss her. Natasha nipped at his lips playfully. She could feel him smirking against her lips and she realized she wanted this as much as he did. She smirked back against him and shoved him backward. Loki fell back to a sitting position on the bed.

Natasha grinned and straddled him. Loki's hands quickly found her ass as he continued to kiss her. Natasha rolled her hips against the god. Her hands grasped his shoulders to keep her steady. He seemed a lot tenser than before. She smirked against his lips and moved down, nipping at his throat.

Loki closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensations that the Midgardian was giving him. Her lips were making it down his chest. A lazy grin made its way to his face as he realized her intentions and blood shot down to his member in anticipation.

Natasha made her way to the floor as she nipped down his flesh. She tugged on the pants to release his cock. Loki wriggled a bit, helping her remove the clothing. She looked up at him as she took him into his mouth. She knew that men loved it when she did that and judging by the expression on his face, Loki was no different. Natasha gripped Loki's ass and took him deep into her mouth.

Loki leaned back, using his hands to support him as the red head swirled him inside her mouth. If she kept up like this then he was not going to last very long. Teeth lightly grazed across the sensitive skin and Loki's hand found itself tangled in the red tresses. Her nails were now leaving red streaks across his ass. Loki thrust into her mouth and she pulled away.

Natasha smirked at the god. His eyes were hooded with need and he was reaching for her. Natasha moved forward and took him all the way to the back of her throat and swallowed while pushing him further in. Loki moaned in pleasure. Natasha held him in her throat for as long as possible and then pulled back.

Loki's cock was nearly throbbing. He was close and Natasha knew it. She smirked more. _Time for a little payback._ She kissed the tip of his cock while pulling off his boots. Then she sucked on him softly as she pulled his pants off. When she was done she pulled up and pulled off her shirt and pants leaving her in her black sports bra and red panties.

She then crawled onto Loki. She pushed his chest and he scooted back. She continued pushing and crawling over him while he scooted back until they were fully on the bed. Loki's hands made it up to her sports bra and ran his fingers over the fabric. He furrowed his brow.

"It's so I don't bounce when I work out," she grinned and bit his ear.

Loki moaned and his hips moved up to her. "What's the fun in that?"

Natasha pulled back and pulled the bra off and flung it across the room. "Better?"  
"Much!" Loki pulled up and his mouth covered her left breast. Natasha rolled her hips over his painfully erect member and Loki growled against her breast. He tugged on her panties.

"What?" Natasha asked innocently.

"Don't make me toss you and take you," Loki growled. He noticed how Natasha's eyes lit up at the prospect.

Natasha bent down and bit his neck which made Loki groan again. His fingers held the sides of her panties. He wanted them off-now!

Natasha laughed and rolled off of him. She pulled the panties off and tossed them to the side. Loki rolled to get on top of her but Natasha rolled off the bed.

Loki eyed her predatorily and she smirked at him. "Lay back down."

"Make me," Loki taunted.

Natasha pushed Loki's shoulders and the god rolled onto his back. She knew he let her do it. She was straddling him now with his cock in front of her. She grasped it and moved her hand up and down his length.

Loki's hands gripped her ass and pulled her up to him so that she was positioned on top of him. Natasha gripped his chest and pushed herself down on him. Her nails dug into Loki's chest as he filled her while Loki gritted his teeth and closed his eyes at the sensation of her walls gripping him tightly.

She rolled her hips, giving him almost no time to adjust; earning her a moan. He filled her so fully and the rubbing of their bodies were quickly sending her to the edge. Natasha reached down and toyed with the bud in between them.

Loki swatted her hand away which earned him a glare. "If you're going to touch yourself, then do it where I can see it." He gasped.

Natasha paused in confusion. Loki placed one of her hands on her breast. He gripped her hips again and thrust upward. Natasha moaned and rubbed her hand over her breast. Loki's grip tightened. He apparently liked what he saw. Natasha licked her lips, she always got a slight thrill from being on display. She brought both hands up to toy with her breasts. She kneaded the flesh and pushed them together. She could feel the god tense underneath her. She toyed with her nipples, pinching them as he watched.

Loki's nails made their way into Natasha's flesh as he tried to hold back his release. He was so very close, but he wanted to make her release first. He reached to where they connected and rubbed the sensitive bud between them.

Natasha's eyes widened and she gasped. She moaned as she caressed her breasts. It felt amazing.

Loki could feel her walls clenching around him. Milking his cock for release. He didn't disappoint. He tossed his head back as he filled her. Her nails were on his chest as she rode out her orgasm. Her hips thrusting forward quickly as she moaned loudly.

Natasha gasped for air as her orgasm left her. Loki was breathing heavily underneath her. She laid down on top of him with him still inside of her.

"This isn't cuddling," She groaned.

Loki blinked. He could definitely fall asleep now.

"This is me waiting for my legs to work again," Natasha muttered.

Loki chuckled. The rumblings felt good against and inside her. Natasha frowned against his warm flesh and pulled up. Loki looked up at her.

"Shut up," She smiled. She frowned as she pulled herself off of him and then collapsed next to him.

"Next time I get to pin you," Loki muttered.

Natasha thought about telling him that there wouldn't be a next time but instead said, "You can try."

She stared up at the ceiling, reveling in the feeling of satisfaction when it occurred to her that Loki didn't respond to her. She looked over to see him completely passed out. She thought about waking him up but decided that no one was stupid enough to barge into her room unannounced. She snuggled into her pillow and closed her eyes.

* * *

Natasha rolled over into the source of heat in her bed. She frowned as she realized it was another person. She nearly groaned: she hated dealing with people when she first got up. Usually Clint was smart enough to get out of her bed before she awoke. Natasha opened one eye to see the god of mischief sleeping soundly next to her. Natasha frowned, somewhat surprised that the god was still in her bed. She rolled over to see that it was 7 in the morning.

She rolled back over to see Loki's face in a grimace. Natasha frowned as she realized he was still asleep and she would guess he was having a bad dream. Natasha had seen Clint get nightmares before, a lot since Loki had taken over his mind. It shouldn't have surprised her that Loki would get them occasionally. Her hand snaked to his face in a very unthreatening manner and caressed his temple. His grimace became less pronounced.

Natasha's hand drifted down and made its way to his abdomen. She felt along the ripples of his abs and she bit her lip. Her hand drifted down to his soft cock and began to stroke it. After a few strokes it started to harden. She squeezed it lightly and continued to stroke it. It was steadily growing in size and Loki made a noise in his sleep. She glanced at his face and grinned: he was no longer grimacing.

When he became half-mast she crawled on top of him, careful to not startle him out of his sleep. Last thing she needed was to be punched through a wall. She guided his semi-hard cock inside of her. It didn't fill her up as it had the night before but it felt good. She grinned as she saw Loki's eye lashes flutter. She slowly rolled her hips and Loki's eyes opened slowly. His mouth was parted and he let out small moans. She increased her pace and Loki moaned again. He blinked several times and his eyes focused on the woman straddling him. She ground down into him and he bit his lip and held back a moan. His hands found her hips and he thrust into her.

Natasha moaned. She could feel him growing inside of her. He was thickening and filling her in the most delicious way possible. She rode him hard. As hard as she possibly could. She grasped his chest and he held onto her hips. He wasn't directing her this time. He was just letting her use him mercilessly.

Loki could feel her walls starting to tighten against him. He was so close and he knew that her orgasm would send him over. Her nails dug into his skin. He loved it. Natasha let out a load moan and Loki's eyes widened.

"Tasha—" Loki bit his lip hard. He felt her clench against him and he shot up into a sitting position with him still inside of her. He grabbed her roughly and pulled her into a deep kiss. His mouth encompassed hers as she screamed out her orgasm. Loki breathed heavily and pulled his head back. He looked around and then listened.

Natasha gripped Loki's shoulders and frowned at his expression. "What?" Natasha breathed hard.

He glanced at her, "Silencing spells were off." He listened but heard nothing, "I don't think anyone heard."

Natasha stared at him with wide eyes, "You never said-"

"Silencing spells are only up for a certain amount of time and I don't normally get woken up that way," Loki grinned. "Though that needs to happen more often."

Natasha pulled off of him and headed for the bathroom. She paused at the door and listened for any noises but heard nothing. She headed into the bathroom to clean up.

Loki fell back into the bed and he wriggled into the comforter as he heard the water running. He could already feel sleep tugging at him again.

"Going back to bed?" Natasha asked from the bathroom doorway.

Loki grinned. "I don't trust my legs against the side of a building after that."

"Make you a deal," Natasha crawled back into the bed next to Loki.

"Hmmm?"

Natasha snuggled into the blanket, "Steve is coming in the next few days. I need you to wait until he knows you're supposed to be here before running into him."

Loki nodded as he closed his eyes. "That I can do." He had already planned on doing that anyway. No sense on asking for trouble.

**Again I might need to be reminded to post tomorrow. Got plans tonight so I might get sidetracked. You guys rock!**


	16. Interesting

**I totally forgot that I didn't put an ending on this-which is why it took so long XD**

**I really hope you guys like. I probably won't post again until the weekend but I will be working on chapters in the meantime.**

Tony chugged the last bit of his coffee and tossed it into the trashcan as soon as he entered the lab.

"Let's get some food," Bruce called to him.

Tony looked over to see that Bruce was grabbing his bag and the tablet he had been working on. Bruce was not generally one to go out into public. If possible he would just order take out and be done with it. The only time that Bruce wanted to go out to eat was to discuss something he was afraid that SHIELD would hear. That is why Tony didn't question it and followed the other man out of the lab.

A few minutes later and they were in Tony's car heading out of the lower level garage.

"What's up?" Tony asked as he sped toward food.

Bruce shook his head, "food?"

Tony raised a brow at the fellow scientist and made his way to Pepper's favorite Mexican place. She liked to drag him there every so often and he knew he liked their chimichangas.

"Why with the crazy?" Tony asked as soon as they were seated. He had requested a circular booth so that Bruce could show him whatever was in the bag with ease.

Bruce looked around at the semi-crowded restaurant before turning his tablet back on. "I was testing the program last night."  
"The one detecting magic?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, I was bored." Bruce poked the tablet a few times. "So I was able to fix it all the way where you can tell where magic is occurring in the house." He showed Tony the tablet. Black lines against the blue black ground signaled where walls and floors were in the tower. Magic was identified by white and as Loki had mentioned before: it was in every living creature. A regular person walking around would appear light blue against the background because they had such a limited supply of magic. Loki's silhouette was a much lighter blue due to his use of magic. When he was angry, or performing magic, it would change to white.

"This is now?" Tony asked while pointing at the tablet.

But Bruce shook his head. "This is last night after you went to bed."

Tony took the tablet and moved the view to his room. "Pepper looked much better in person." Tony handed the tablet back over while smirking. On it were two light blue silhouettes; the larger one on top of the smaller one.

"That's not what I was looking for," Bruce frowned. He moved the view to Loki's room. "Loki looked really tired the night before so I was wondering if he was actually meditating."

"What's he doing?" Tony frowned. "it doesn't look like meditation."

Bruce sighed. "Tossing and turning." The silhouette lay horizontal and would occasionally fidget. "He did it for an hour last night."

"So what?" Tony frowned. "I toss and turn a lot and you don't hear me complain."

"You complain a lot." Bruce muttered. "And that's not what I'm worried about."

Tony eyed the silhouette as the waiter approached. They ordered their food and the waiter went away.

"Anytime now," Bruce sighed.

Tony raised a brow and then watched as the silhouette got up and moved about. It looked as if he was pacing. Then Tony couldn't tell what the god was doing. A few minutes later, Loki went out the window. Right before he did the area around him became lighter.

"He did a spell," Bruce commented. "I think that's how he's been getting around."  
"Fury will be happy, he thought Loki could teleport," Tony commented.

"No he won't," Bruce sighed. "I checked and double checked. That's Natasha's room."

Tony watched as the silhouette entered a room through the window. The smaller silhouette walked to him. Suddenly the whole room lightened.

"Another spell?" Tony asked quietly.

"Yeah," Bruce nodded. "It's similar. I think it's so he won't be detected."

"Detected?" Tony stared down at the tablet and then his eyebrows rose. He looked to Bruce.

"Not a lot of things that that could have been, and trust me it only gets worse," Bruce told him.

"So Fury is sic'ing Natasha on him," Tony stared down at the tablet.

"I'm not too sure about that," Bruce frowned. "Loki would see through something like that."  
"So Fury is sic'ing Natasha on Loki who knows what's going on and enjoying the ride?" He tilted his head. "Enjoying the ride immensely."

"I don't know. But if someone is getting their emotions toyed with then I think that this should not be brought to anyone's attention," Bruce frowned.

"What do we tell Loki?" Tony asked. "He wants to know when to bring in the other guy."

"Don't show him the tablet," Bruce told him. "Just tell him that we are ready for a test run with the other guy."

Tony nodded and handed the tablet over to Bruce.

* * *

Steve got out of the cab and looked at Stark Tower. He pulled out his new phone and began to dial Nat's number.

"About time you got here."  
Steve smiled as he saw Director Fury heading for him. "My phone got knocked into the drink."

"So Natasha said," Fury nodded. "You need to come with me."

"So what's the big bad?" Steve asked as they headed into the bottom level where Tony kept his cars.

"Oh, just the end of the world as we know it. Nothing new." Fury grinned as they headed into the elevator.

"All the other Avengers here?" Steve asked.

"And then some," Fury sighed. He texted Natasha: _Steve in penthouse, keep Loki occupied. _"While you were gone some interesting things happened."

"_Interesting_. That word just keeps popping up." Steve frowned.

"Do you know who Odin is?" Fury asked Steve, but the Avenger just shrugged. "Odin is the King of Asgard and NOT our biggest fan."

"King? Wouldn't that make him Thor's father?" Steve asked.

"That it would," The elevator doors opened and Fury took a look around the room as they headed out. "They were recently under attack and believe that it signals a greater threat to come."

"So he sent Thor?" Steve asked.

Fury sighed, "Yes and no." He peered around to the counter and saw Coulson sipping on coffee. "The big bad we are against is called Thanos and he is extremely strong, smart, magical and pissed off."

"Magical?" Steve frowned. "Like Loki?"

"Not as powerful apparently," Fury frowned. "Which is why Odin decided that Loki is going to help us take him down."

Steve blinked. "Last I heard, Loki was dead."

Fury frowned, "Evidently not."

"Where is he?" Steve asked.

"Around," Fury answered. "I asked Natasha to detain him so I could talk to you before you saw him."

"He's here?" Steve stared at him. "Just walking around?"

"He's helping," Fury frowned, not believing his own statement.

The elevator dinged and they all turned to see Tony and Bruce get off. "Hey Cap!" Tony grinned.

"Uh, we're looking for…."Bruce looked around. "Never mind."

"Loki's not here," Fury told him.

"We're looking for Thor actually," Tony told him. "He's the one that can get in touch with the other magic-y guy."

Fury furrowed his brow, "What?"

Natasha came out the door leading to the stairs, "Thor's downstairs in the gym."

"Nat!" Steve made his way to the red head and gave her a big hug

"You really need to stop losing your phone," Natasha grinned as she hugged him back.

"Where's Loki?" Fury asked Natasha.

"Thor said he was on the roof with Jane and Darcy," Natasha shrugged.

* * *

Fury, Natasha and Steve exited the elevator to see Jane reading a book by the pool. A few seconds later Darcy popped out of the pool and gasped for air.

"Where's Loki," Fury asked. Jane pointed to the pool without looking up.

Thor popped up out of the water as well. He leaned against the side of the pool and smiled, "greetings."

"Thor," Steve nodded at him. Darcy blinked and then looked down at Thor in confusion.

Natasha tilted her head and smirked, "It's okay, he knows already."

Thor's features shifted into Loki's.

"How in the hell?" Fury glared at him and then at Natasha.

"Remember, Thor said he could look like anyone," Natasha told him.

"Yes, like anyone-not specific people," Fury glared at Loki who smirked back at him.

"Loki," Steve nodded in greeting.

Loki turned and saluted him.

"Tony mentioned wanting to get some magic guy here," Natasha said as she walked to Loki.

Loki pulled himself out of the pool. He looked almost comical in the green swim trunks he was wearing. "Frey. They are wanting to test their device on other magic."

"Does it not work on you?" Fury asked.

"It does," Loki told him. "But not all magic is the same. It is a safety precaution." He turned to Natasha. "I need to borrow your internet."

"No." Natasha answered.

"Jane won't let me borrow hers."

"Smart," Natasha grinned.

"Darcy said it's because I would look at porn," Loki continued.

"Don't tell him what that is," Jane said without looking up from her book. "I've managed to not tell Thor what it is and I want to keep it that way."

"If you want him to care about our 'realm'," Darcy grinned. "That would be the way to do it."

"Why do you want the internet," Natasha looked at him.

Loki tilted his head, "To bring this realm to its knees from its most trusted source."

Natasha crossed her arms amused.

"I wish to goodle myself," Loki answered.

Natasha laughed, " 'google' you mean 'google'. " She pulled out her phone and pulled up the internet. Loki looked over her shoulder. "Exactly what are you looking for?" Loki muttered into her ear. "I'll let you know right now that everyone thinks you slept with a horse." She grinned ear to ear.

* * *

Dinner was interesting to Steve. They had ordered a lot of pizza. He thought they would never finish it but it turned out that Loki could out-eat Thor which was quite the accomplishment.

"So, we all have 'magic'?" Steve asked after Tony explained the project.

"That's what Loki says," Tony nodded.

"What Thanos, Loki and Frey have is the ability to manipulate it," Thor explained.

Loki snorted, "Frey can hardly manipulate anything."

"He can do a lot," Thor shrugged.

"If you kept at it you would have been as powerful as Frey," Loki smirked.

Thor frowned, "we are not-"

"Remember the love spell?" Loki grinned.

"I remember setting you on fire," Thor grinned and stuffed a slice of pizza in his mouth.

"Well there was that, but that was because you got horse hair and not Sif's hair," Loki rolled his eyes.

"Sif?" Jane raised a brow. She glanced at her boyfriend who just shook his head.

"Thor adored her as a child," Loki grinned.

"Watch your tongue brother," Thor warned. Loki paused and decided to take a drink instead.

"I assume there's a good story behind this?" Natasha asked amused.

Loki shook his head but Thor grinned.

"Okay, now I'm curious," Steve grinned.

"Thor," Loki began, "was absolutely in love with Sif as a child and wanted me to teach him magic to win her heart. Simple as that."  
"Which was because she was in love with you," Thor pointed out.

"She was never in love with me," Loki sighed as if they had had this discussion many times.

"She kissed you."

"To prove a point."

"And then you fell into the juice bowl." Thor grinned broadly.

Loki glared at him, "and then you got punched for asking if she wanted to practice on you."

Thor laughed, "I always figured you two would end up together."

Loki nearly choked on his drink. He took a deep breath and shook his head, "trust me: she does not like me."

"I think she protests too much."

"I think she protests just enough," Loki argued. "She's in love with someone else."  
"And how do _you _know that?" Thor asked.

"She asked me to look like him one night, but I declined." Loki shrugged.

"Do you do that often?" Darcy raised a brow and Loki just grinned.

"Why did you decline? Have you not wished to lay with her?" Thor blinked in confusion.

"As you know, I have to think of the image I want to retain." Loki paused as Thor downed his drink, "and there was no way I would be able to perform with _that_ image in my head." He stared pointedly at his older brother who was too busy drinking his drink to notice.

Jane looked between the two gods and raised a brow at Loki.

"Has she not tried to win his affection?" Thor asked after setting down his drink.

"The guy is quite moronic," Loki smirked. He glanced at Jane, "Also, I'm almost positive he's not interested."

"You and me are going to have a long talk at some point," Jane told him.

"I'm not allowed alone with Thor's lovers," Loki grinned.

Thor frowned, "No you are not!"

Loki laughed.

"Last time I left you alone you and Amora-"  
"I thought you liked that twisty thing I taught her," Loki jerked his head away before Thor could smack him.

"I'm quite sure all of Asgard enjoyed that, but it is not the point," Thor grumbled. He ducked his head when Jane gave him a questioning look.

A hand graced Steve's shoulder and he looked up to see Natasha smiling at him. He could still hear the brothers arguing in the back ground.

"You doing okay?" She asked.

"It will take some getting used to," Steve answered honestly. "But if he's as strong as Fury says then we need him on our side."

**I'm having a tough time writing Steve. Which might be because he is one of my least favorite characters: too goody-goody. I like a bit of evil in a man XD Hopefully I will get over the writer's block with him and be able to write quite a bit more. I have the basic idea for the next chapter. So I will hopefully start working on it later tonight. Someone bitch at me to do it XD **


	17. A Sorcerer's Trade

**Sorry this took so long. And LovesDragons, The Last Hatake, and Magentarosegallifrey rock so much for reviewing!**

Steve crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Currently there was a 'sorcerer' in the penthouse and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The grayed old man looked to be about 70 and didn't seem to be that fond of humans. From what Steve gathered, he didn't like Loki either and the feeling was mutual. Which is why the younger Asgardian was not in sight.

Frey, or so Thor called him, was busy performing magical spells so that Tony and Bruce could see if their device would be able to track all different types of magic. He created fire in his hand, made things float and even caused a small rain cloud in the living room.

Frey frowned at the elevator and continued to cast spells. Steve turned to see Loki heading toward the bar. Which was where he was standing with Natasha.

"Seems to be working," Natasha told Loki when he approached.

Loki shrugged and grabbed a package of cookies out of the cabinet.

"Tony and Bruce are figuring out a few other things on the program," she continued.

Loki looked up at Frey and the older sorcerer gave him a dirty look. Loki frowned and started eating his cookies.

Natasha frowned, "you guys really hate each other don't you?"

Loki shrugged again. He fiddled with the cookies, but on the whole he seemed distracted.

Natasha snagged one of the cookies, but it didn't evoke a reaction from the god. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Loki ground out. He glared up at the old Asgardian who was staring him down.

"Maybe you should go," Steve frowned. He wasn't sure if the god would actually listen to him.

Thor looked over to Loki from where he was leaning on the back of the couch. He frowned and then looked at Frey. "NO!"

Everyone turned to look at Thor except the two sorcerers.

"If you are going to have a conversation, then do it out loud!" Thor demanded.

Frey rolled his eyes, "I wish to not have to explain myself over and over to these dull creatures."

Thor frowned and turned to Loki who replied, "What he said."

Frey sighed at Thor's angry gaze, "I want the amulet, Loki."

Loki glanced back at Frey.

"I know you have it, so put your silver tongue away."

Loki frowned. He then reached in his pocket and pulled out the leather bag. He undid the strings and reached into the bag. The bag was small but his hand seemed to go deeper than the bag itself. After a few seconds he pulled out a necklace with a dark blue pendant.

Frey's eyes lightened at the amulet.

"The book?" Loki twirled the chain about much to Frey's dismay.

Frey frowned and then held his hands out in front of him. After a few seconds, a dark leather bound book appeared in his hands. Loki set the pendant into his palm, which Frey mimicked with the book. After a few seconds the two items flew across the room in exchange. The sorcerers looked down at their prizes in admiration. It was quickly replaced with disdain when they looked back at each other.

"Four weeks." Loki stated.

Frey shook his head, "It requires longer than that and you know it. Five weeks."

Loki stared him down and then shrugged.

"Is that bound in skin?" Thor stared at the book.

"Of some creature," Loki told him and he flipped the book open.

Thor looked at the amulet that Frey was admiring, "Please tell me that's not-"

"It's not," Loki deadpanned.

"Why do I not believe you?"

"Why do you believe anything I say?" Loki flipped through a few of the pages. It was the book he was looking for. In its bindings should be a spell for portals. He glanced and saw spells to send the creature back to hell but most of them took a slew of sorcerers, lots of time and artifacts that had been destroyed. Another would most likely get his ass thrown into hell with Thanos.

"What's that?" Thor had appeared behind Loki and was peering at the book.

Loki walked toward the couch without looking up. He continued to flip through the pages.

"Let me see," Thor followed him, curious as to what spell Loki would need in a skin bound book.

Loki leaned against the couch, ignoring his older brother. Frey shook his head at the two siblings.

Thor reached for the book but Loki leaned back and fell back onto the couch, his legs dangling over the top of the couch.

"I think the Midgardians are done with me," Frey called to Thor. "And my business with Loki is done."

"Did they even need to try that device with his magic or were you using it as an excuse to make a trade?" Thor crossed his arms and looked down at his brother.

"We actually needed it," Tony piped up. "We found a few things to fix the program."

Thor frowned, "Do we need anything from Asgard?"

"Nope," Loki shrugged but didn't move from his position on the couch.

"Behave!" Thor eyed the book.

"Nope," Loki replied.

* * *

Steve tossed his shoes next to the side of the pool and sat next to Natasha who had her legs in the water. She had rolled up her jeans and was lightly kicking her legs creating small waves. Steve rolled up his legs and slid his legs into the cool water.

"Did you miss me?" Steve grinned at his friend.

Natasha elbowed him, "nah."

"So how's it been going?" Steve looked up at the light blue sky.

"Well, in about three or so weeks we should be battling some crazy monster guy," Natasha shrugged. "So right now I'm peachy."

"Thanos?" Steve tried.

"That's the guy," Natasha sighed. "And until then we get to deal with all the avengers and one mass murdering Asgardian under one roof."

"Sounds fun," Steve smiled.

"Actually it isn't half bad." Natasha grinned. She looked over to Steve. "What about you? Tell me about Europe."

"Well I spent a lot of time in Germany and then got sidetracked in Italy," Steve shrugged. "I lost Bucky there."

"What side tracked you?" Natasha asked.

"Falling in the river," Steve smiled sheepishly.

"I'm going to have to get you all those numbers again," Natasha sighed.

"I actually remembered one," Steve sighed. "Bethany from IT."

"Ooh," Natasha grinned. "How did that one go?"

Steve gave her a funny look, "she seemed pretty apologetic because she's seeing somebody.

Natasha frowned, "Damn. Well maybe we can try Angelica from accounting."

"Bethany told me she's been dating Clint for the past two weeks," Steve told her.

Natasha looked into the water and her kicking had stopped.

"Nat?"

She sighed, "that would explain a lot."

**That was short and I know it and I am sorry! The next chapter is going to be long and I had to get this part out of the way first. Hopefully I will have the next chapter up by Sunday. **

**Random Facts: Loki is capable of transmitting his thoughts into another being. He can't read minds though or control them without that infinity stone. I assumed Frey could do the same, which is how they were having the conversation.**

**There is a sorcerer in Asgard that is very powerful but Loki is more powerful. I forgot his name and couldn't find it when I went back to look for it-so the guy's name is fake but he exists past that. **


	18. Fight Me!

**And I kept my word. It is Sunday and I have a chapter for you which has been running through my head all week. (A great chapter to be stuck in my head if I do say so myself)**

**LovesDragons...I'm actually not 100%. But Frey isn't a totally good guy so who knows. I'll figure it out later :D**

The head of the dummy flew twenty feet from the blow of Natasha's kick. She turned onto the next dummy and began pummeling it in the stomach. Each blow was harder than the last. The dummy wobbled on its concrete base as it took the savage beating from the redheaded Avenger. She was angry.

It had been several hours since Steve had told her about Clint. She told him she didn't care that Clint was with someone else which wasn't a total lie. Clint had been acting strange the last couple of weeks which had caused a crease in their friendship and her feelings for him. The real reason she was angry was because she had to find out from someone else: that Clint wouldn't even tell her. After several hours of silent fuming, she found herself in the gym taking out the dummies that Tony had put out for her and Steve.

Thankfully Steve hadn't bothered her too much. He knew that she needed her space and left her alone. Thor was on the other side of the gym and even he had decided not to bother her.

She smashed her fist through the dummy's stomach. The loud crunch made the Asgardian turn. His face held concern but he did not break the silence between them. She assumed he recognized the anger and the need to work her frustrations out on the dummy. She was thankful that he understood what she needed and didn't bother her. She yanked her fist back out of the dummy. Thor, noting that her fist was not stuck, returned back to his stretches.

A part of her wanted to go and tell Fury she had had enough of her damn house arrest and that she needed a target so that she could rip their face off. Natasha started working on the dummy's face now. She wanted to see if she could make this one's head go further than this last one. The thought of her house arrest made her even angrier and she began wishing for a target who needed a very violent ending.

It was about then that she noted that Clint had entered the gym. She saw him out of the corner of her eye but chose to ignore him. Thor stopped his stretches and shook his head at Clint. Natasha continued to pummel the dummy's face. _Take the warning Clint._

"Nat?" Clint called to her.

Natasha gritted her teeth and punched the dummy's face even harder. She didn't turn: she didn't want to look at him right now.

"Nat?" Clint tried again while taking a step closer.

"What?" Natasha swung her leg around and knocked the dummy to the ground.

Clint raised a brow at the fallen dummy, "I was going to ask you to spar, but-"

"Trust me, _you _don't want to spar with me." Natasha turned and grabbed the dummy so that she could set it back up. It was heavy even for her.

Clint took a deep breath. He was aware he wasn't as strong as Natasha but he was only trying to help. "Maybe it will help?"

Natasha whirled around and punched Clint in the face. _What do you know? That did help._

Clint staggered back a few steps and glared at her. He rushed her and started throwing punches. Natasha deflected them and kicked him hard in the stomach. Clint wheezed and punched her in the jaw. Natasha ducked down in a spin and took the feet out from under Clint. He rolled away from her and ran for her again. Barely any of his punches hit. He was starting to see how uneven this fight was. She wasn't holding back this time. This wasn't a sparring match, this was an actual fight. She grabbed his hand and Clint was flipped over her and he hit the floor hard.

"What is your problem?" Clint growled from the ground. They were supposed to be allies, not trying to kill each other.

Natasha glared at him. She turned on her heel to leave. She didn't want to have this conversation in front of other people, even if it was just Thor.

Clint grabbed Natasha's hand, "Nat-"

"Why didn't you tell me about Bethany?" Natasha glared at him.

Clint stared at her for a moment and then looked down, "I thought you would be upset."

"I'm upset because my _friend_ can't even treat me like an adult," Natasha glared at him. "I am upset because you wouldn't even tell me."

Clint sighed, "I didn't want to hurt your feelings."

"What am I, four?" Natasha glared at him. She shook her head at him and stormed off.

She clenched her fists in anger as she stormed down the empty hallway. He was treating her like a child. Trying his best to spare her 'feelings'. She gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes. If he had just told her then they would have just stopped having sex. It wasn't like they were betrothed or something. She had never actually told him that she had feelings for him. Feelings that seemed to be vanishing by the second.

Natasha wanted to punch somebody. Make them hurt. She was tired of being treated like a child. Tired of having her feelings spared. Tired of being grounded to this tower. Tired of everything.

Before she knew it she was pounding on Loki's door. She waited a few seconds before wondering why she was waiting in the first place. She slammed the door open and barged right on in.  
Loki stopped halfway to the door, his book in his hand with a finger marking his place. He watched as Natasha slammed the door shut behind her and began marching over to him. Going off of past experiences he would assume he was going to have sex but her expression said otherwise.

Natasha didn't say a word but instead pushed Loki who took a step backward, mostly out of surprise. He blinked and raised his brows at her. She couldn't possibly think that she had a chance against him. She shoved him again. Loki gave her a vicious glare. If she shoved him again he was going to take her down.

Natasha glared back at the god. She grit her teeth and shoved him as hard as she could. Immediately Loki tossed the book aside and his hand enclosed over her throat. He pushed her back against the wall pushing her upward so her feet were off the ground. Natasha struggled against his grip but he didn't relent. Her nails dug into the flesh of his arm as hard as she could. It left small slivers of blood. Loki's eyes narrowed at the woman and he tightened his grip on her throat. His brow furrowed slightly as he noted a strange look in her eyes.

Still holding onto her throat, Loki leaned down and devoured Natasha's mouth. This kiss was purely dominating. Natasha immediately fought for control in the kiss, but Loki wouldn't let her have it. She bit his lower lip hard in retaliation. Loki pulled away and looked at her.

"Put the damn spell up, NOW!" Natasha growled.

Loki pulled his hand away from her throat, making her drop in the process, and tossed his hand outward to the side.

Immediately Natasha kicked him in the gut. Loki moved back slightly: the Midgardian was strong. He took the moment to pull off his tunic instead of attacking back. As soon as it was over his head, Natasha laid several punches into his chest. He hit her with a punch as soon as tossed the shirt aside. She tried to punch him back, but he deflected it.

Natasha yelled and jumped. She used her legs to flip Loki to the ground. Loki rolled and grabbed her legs and pulled her down next to him. Natasha struggled against his iron-like grip. Loki crawled on top of the woman and pulled her shirt off. She didn't struggle against that part.

But she was still fighting him. She gave his stomach a punch and he bent down and bit her hard on the shoulder. Natasha let out a scream of pain, though at the same time her hips jerked up. Loki tore the bra off of her, still unsure how to work that clasp.

Natasha shoved him and managed to get on top of him. She punched him in the face and he did the same. Natasha fell backward and held her nose. A trickle of blood came out and she smirked. She ran for Loki but he tossed her up against the wall face first. He pinned her effectively up against it and used the opportunity to remove both of her shoes and his boots.

She struggled and eventually kicked him hard enough in the shin that he let her go. Her kick to his abdomen made him grunt and pushed him back several feet. Natasha started another running jump but this time Loki caught her midair and flung her onto the bed on her back. She struggled to get up but Loki pinned her by the waist. She nearly kicked him between the legs and he shoved her onto her stomach, and pinned her down with his hand on her back. He waited a moment while she struggled before grabbing the hem of her pants and ripping them off with her undergarments. She used the opportunity to push out of his grip but he grabbed her arm and tossed her back against the bed so she was bent over it. He leaned over her and pinned her by the back of her neck.

Loki ran his other hand over the delicious curve of her ass. He then pushed two fingers deep inside of her. He smirked when he felt how much her juices covered his fingers. He shoved them in and out of her roughly making the woman yell in pleasure. When his fingers were very slick he pulled them back out and rubbed against the entrance to her ass. Immediately the woman underneath him tensed and he couldn't help but smirk.

He rubbed against the entrance with his slick fingers, toying with the woman who seemed to not enjoy this particular treatment. He slipped a finger inside of her and Natasha grunted. She wriggled underneath him but not as much as before. When she was sufficiently stretched enough, Loki added another finger.

Natasha winced against the pressure that Loki was adding but after a few ministrations, it felt good again. She wriggled against his fingers. It felt good but she'd prefer he take her good and hard instead of toying with her ass. When his fingers retreated, she smirked and then tried to get out of Loki's grasp. His grip on her neck tightened and she gasped for air.

Natasha immediately stiffened when she felt Loki's cock prodding her ass. She struggled then. She didn't always enjoy anal sex, especially if there was not enough prep. Her nails dug into his sheets and she tried to pull herself free from his grip, but Loki wouldn't allow it. He pushed against her harder and Natasha bit against the sheets as she felt the pain. She was not prepared.

"LOKI STOP!" She tried in vain to jerk from his grasp. His free hand made it to her hip. He rubbed the tip of his cock against the puckered entrance causing more pain. "LOKI!" Natasha struggled but Loki had her pinned. She felt fear prickle in her chest when Loki didn't answer. "LOKI DON'T!" He pushed against her back entrance. "PLEASE!"

Both of Loki's hands were on her hips and he pulled away from her ass and shoved himself deep inside her pussy. Natasha cried out in surprise. She gasped for breath as she tried to adjust to his sudden intrusion.

Loki leaned over her body so that his mouth was next to her ear, "I like it when you beg." He nipped at her ear and pulled all the way back. He began pounding into her then. Each thrust rocked the entire bed and made Natasha cry out. She gripped the bed with her nails as she tried to hang on. The roughness was a delicious mix of pain and pleasure that Natasha couldn't get enough of. She needed more.

"HARDER!" She screamed into the sheets. Quickly it was followed by another scream as Loki grabbed both of her legs so that he could piston himself inside of her. She gasped in between her cries of pleasure and pain. She could barely breathe as her orgasm rolled over her. His hands were leaving bruises. But right now it felt so good to her.

After her orgasm, Natasha was able to kick out which caught Loki off guard. He stumbled backward and Natasha flipped onto her back. She shoved herself off of the bed and pushed Loki up against the wall. She reached up and, with mostly her nails, she grabbed Loki's ears to bring him down into a dominating kiss. She could feel blood underneath her nails and Loki tensed under the pain in such a sensitive place. She clawed at his ears more and he groaned against their kiss. One in which he was trying to gain the upper hand.

Natasha's nails were now scratching their way down his neck. Loki, in turn, dug his nails into her ass. Natasha cried out and thrust her hips forward. Loki spun them around and she was pinned to the wall again. She was lifted off the ground by her ass and Loki shoved himself inside of her. His hands moved to her legs so he could thrust into her as hard as he could.

"OH GOD!" Natasha screamed. Her nails were still digging into Loki's neck.

Loki buried himself as deep as he could inside of her, "If you're going to call out to a god," He pulled out and thrust into her deeply again. "Why not call out to me?"

Natasha shook her head. But looked him dead in the eyes as if to say 'make me'. Loki's nails dug into Natasha's legs and he thrust into her as hard as he could. The woman's screams were delicious. The dragging of nails across his skin made him want to scream with her. The pressure of pleasure and pain was incredible. He was yelling with her now. Goading her on to rake those nails across his skin. To claw at his ears and pull his hair.

Natasha's body tensed underneath him and he leaned down and bit her neck hard. She screamed his name. Loki moved his mouth to bite the other side of her neck. He loved hearing his name screamed. Natasha had thrown her head back as she screamed his name again. Her walls milking his cock. He grunted against her neck as his release neared.

Natasha pulled at his hair and bit down on his ear. Loki moaned hard.

"Say it," Natasha wrapped her legs around his waist making it harder for him to thrust effectively.

Loki growled, which made Natasha's walls tense against him.

"Say it," Natasha repeated and she bit down on his neck as hard as she could.

Loki tensed against the woman, she had found another one of his sensitive spots. As if realizing this, she started sucking on the skin as well. Loki tossed his head back as Natasha teased the sensitive flesh. He thrust into her as hard as he could with her legs wrapped around him so tightly.

Natasha pulled away and bit down on his jugular. Loki's eyes widened. "Tasha," he gasped as he felt himself go over the edge. He pounded into her as he released his orgasm inside of her. Natasha pulled away from her bite to try to grip at the wall as she rode out her own orgasm.

They breathed heavily against each other. Loki leaned his head against her as he tried to regain his composure. He loosened his grip on Natasha's legs and let her slide out of his grip. He turned so that he could lean his back against the wall. They both slid down the wall until they were sitting on the ground.

They didn't say anything for several minutes. All that was heard was their heavy breathing. Natasha blinked and looked around the room. Her entire body felt fuzzy from the intense orgasm. Her mind was no better.

Loki didn't think he had ever felt more relaxed. He blinked as he tried to regain composure and his senses. He failed miserably at both. He tilted his head, which was still leaned back against the wall. "I feel like I should ask 'why'."

Natasha blinked and tried to remember what had started this in the first place. She couldn't remember. Her brow furrowed slightly. "I was…mad."

Loki nodded, "I noticed."

Natasha sighed as she remembered, "I was mad at Clint."

"Remind me to thank him for making you mad," Loki breathed deeply.

Natasha couldn't help but smile. "Can you imagine the look on his face?"

Loki chuckled.

"I think I needed that," Natasha said.

Loki nodded in agreement.

"I never get to do it like that," Natasha grinned.

Loki raised a brow, "I would think you would go for that a lot."

"Not a lot of opportunities," Natasha sighed. "Clint isn't as strong as me."

"There's the Captain," Loki suggested.

Natasha blinked and then started laughing, "no!"

"I thought he was attractive," Loki shrugged.

"No," Natasha laughed. "I mean he would never. He's would apologize if he scratched me."

"Would he salute before sex?" Loki asked grinning.

Natasha smirked and raised her hand in salute, "permission to come aboard?"

They both fell back against the wall laughing.

"You get to do that a lot though, don't you?" Natasha asked.

"Not as often as you would think," Loki sighed.

"Oh, right. The prim and proper Asgardian women," Natasha smirked.

"Who would cry if I tried that on them," Loki snorted as he leaned his head back against the wall.

"Loki?" Natasha asked.

"Hmmm," Loki felt like he could fall asleep against the wall.

"I'm hungry," Natasha stated. She looked at him, "If I called for Chinese would you look like me and go get it."

"What's Chinese?" Loki asked.

"Food," Natasha stated. "A lot of yummy food."

Loki groaned, "I really don't want to get up."

* * *

Natasha crawled through the window holding several bags full of Chinese food. She raised a brow at the other Natasha who was still completely naked, sitting on Loki's bed watching tv with Loki's fur blanket draped over her shoulders. She grinned and wriggled backward to make room for the food.

The Natasha with the Chinese food shifted back into a naked Loki who tossed the Chinese food on the bed. He got on the bed next to Natasha and noted she was watching some cartoon with three little girls in outfits of pink, green and blue. Natasha started to divvy up the food for them.

Loki decided the 'chinese' food wasn't too bad. And the tv show of the 'powerpuff girls' wasn't awful. They quickly made their way through the food.

Loki blinked and looked over to Natasha when she leaned against him.

"Don't flatter yourself," She muttered. "For some reason my ass hurts."  
Loki smirked, "I'll heal you in a moment."  
"It's fine," Natasha shrugged. "I just need to lean for a sec."

Loki shook his head. Natasha looked as if she was getting a black eye, her nose had a purple mark on it and the rest of her was covered in scratches and bruises. "You need to be healed or someone's going to ask questions."

"Well so do you," Natasha smirked. Loki was sporting several hickies on his neck, a dark mark on his cheek and his ears were red with claw marks. The rest of him was covered in claw marks.

Loki scratched at one of his red ears, "More than likely."

Natasha tossed off Loki's blanket and laid down on her stomach. "Well, heal me already."

Loki's fingers glowed light blue and he traced over the bruise on Natasha's nose. It tingled and the color was beginning to fade. His fingers trailed over her body following the scratch marks he had put on her. He rubbed his hands over her ass, massaging it.

"It needs that much attention?" Natasha smirked.

"It always needs this much attention," Loki bent down and bit it. Natasha moaned lightly at the bite.

"Maybe you will get more sex in the morning," Natasha nuzzled into the sheets.

Loki raised a brow, "you're not staying here."

"You stayed in my bed," Natasha shrugged. "And your bed is super comfy. What is this?" She poked at the grayish-blue fur.

"_You_ don't have to worry about Thor barging in at all hours," He sighed. "It's a Gib-cat"

Natasha shrugged, "If he barges in then throw an illusion up." She tested the softness of the fur.

"He's caught me too many times for him to fall for it again," Loki told her.

"It's Thor." Natasha muttered which made Loki grin. "Unless you want to carry me to my room, my ass is staying."

Loki frowned. He collapsed next to her, "I get this next time." He rubbed her ass.

"Who says there will be a next time," Natasha smirked at him. He smirked back.

**A Gib-cat is a rather large feline with bluish gray fur from what I understand. i will probably explain why it came to be in Loki's possession next chapter. Sadly, next chapter may not get here until next weekend. I start my online class this week while doing my 40 hours at work. Doesn't exactly leave much time for this. Which really blows. But if yall annoy me enough, I may just forego sleep and try to get it out a bit sooner :D**


	19. Attack on Midgard

**This whole doing a class, full-time job and still attempting to go to the gym three times a week seriously leaves no time for me to write. Though I've been working on the plot. So if I can help it I will post the next chapter today. **

**All these people deserve an awesome award and cookies: **

**LovesDragons: Thank you for the consideration**

**Magentarosegallifrey: I know right? That was such a fun chapter to write and if I can i will put another chap up like it again XD**

**Araki6: *Blushes* sorry I made you wait! You are part of the reason I'm trying to get this second chapter out today.**

Natasha rolled onto her other side and nuzzled into the fur. She loved this fur. It was so soft and smelled good. She opened one of her eyes to see Loki sleeping soundly. She reached out to the god and traced her fingers over his skin. Loki moaned lightly at the ticklish touch. He cracked open an eye and groaned, too tired to do anything. Natasha smiled sleepily and flicked one of his nipples.

Loki grunted and buried his head into his pillow. Natasha wriggled over to him, not wanting to use the energy to actually crawl. She nipped at his skin. Loki pulled her to him and kissed her soundly. It wasn't rough or dominating like normal: he was too tired. Natasha ran her tongue over his lips, closing her eyes in the process.

She felt Loki move on top of her so that he could kiss her better. She moaned against him as his fingers grazed across her body. She ran her own hands down his lean back. The muscles moved smoothly underneath her touch. Loki's hands moved down to her legs and she moved her knees up so that he could get to her easier. Natasha leaned her head back into the pillow and moaned softly.

"The spell," She moaned as he nibbled on her neck.

"It's up," Loki murmured. He moved slowly; a sweet slow friction that made Natasha moan. Her hands caressed his back as he legs moved against his slowly. The slowness made her orgasm build slower but it was pleasurable. Her skin felt so sensitive to every touch he had.

She lay back in her pillow with her eyes closed, moans escaping her as Loki moved over her body. She gripped his shoulders as her peak neared. He moaned into her shoulder as he neared his own orgasm. Natasha went over the edge as he spilled himself into her.

Loki leaned his head against Natasha's. He had been sleepy when they started, now he was ready to just pass out.

"That was different," Natasha murmured. Her skin felt feathery from the small orgasms that had moved through her.

"Yeah," Loki barely breathed.

"Lazy morning sex," Natasha grinned. "Definitely underrated."

Loki chuckled, "We could-" he stopped when he heard knocking on his door. He pulled off of Natasha and tossed on his sweatpants. Normally he wouldn't care to be nude, but he was obviously post-coital.

Natasha jumped off the bed and wrapped the fur around her body. She glanced at Loki who waved his fingers at her. Her skin immediately prickled and she knew that no one could see her.

Loki opened the door to see Tony and Bruce. "What?"

"Are you doing magic?" Tony asked.

"Always," Loki grumbled.

Bruce pulled out his tablet, "Specifically are you doing a lot of magic outside of the tower. About 5 buildings over that way?" Bruce pointed in a direction.

Loki shook his head, "That's not me." He looked behind him and then back to the Avengers. "Meet me upstairs. . . Get Thor!" Loki shut the door before they could say another thing. This was bad.

Loki muttered a cleansing spell and quickly began to dress. Natasha noted that it wasn't 'Asgardian causal' but what he had been wearing when he had been fighting against them.

Loki turned to her when he was dressed, "I am taking you back to your room. Clean up. Hopefully they will come get you soon."

"I thought you said Thanos wouldn't be here for three more weeks," Natasha frowned.

Loki pulled the woman into his arms, "He wasn't supposed to be."

Loki ran her across the side of the building to her room. As soon as he dropped her off he disappeared into thin air. Natasha tossed the fur blanket into her closet. It was obviously Loki's and she didn't need anyone accidentally seeing it. She then hopped into the shower.

After her quick shower she began to pace in her underwear. She couldn't get ready in her gear or the other Avengers would want to know how she knew. It would also be a waste of time to get dressed in what she normally wore.

"Nat?" Steve's voice sounded followed by quick knocking.

"Come in," Natasha said and she busied herself in her drawers.

"Hey, we got to- why are you naked?" Steve immediately covered his eyes.

"I'm getting dressed." Natasha shrugged. "And I'm wearing underwear."

"Which is supposed to go _under_ clothes!" Steve's ears were turning red.

"What did you need?" Natasha smirked at the Captain.

"Suit up," Steve told her as he turned his back to her. "Tony and Bruce have registered a really strong source of magic above the city."

Natasha grabbed her jumpsuit and pulled it on quickly. She pulled out her bottom drawer, which was filled with weapons, and began arming herself.

* * *

Loki stared out the window. Once alerted to the magic, he was able to concentrate on it himself. He frowned, he could see a glimmer against the sky where it would open.

Thor stepped next to him, "What do you see?"

Loki stared at the glimmer.

"I thought you said Thanos wouldn't be here for another 3 weeks!" Fury yelled as soon as he entered the penthouse. Coulson followed him closely, waiting for the word so that he could scramble SHIELD.

Loki shook his head. "This isn't Thanos. This is Chitauri coming to clear a path."

Everyone paused.

"How many?" Thor asked with his arms crossed.

"A lot," Loki frowned. "But his army has diminished quite a bit."

"We need to do a full-scale evacuation right now," Fury told Coulson.

"No!" Both Thor and Loki ordered.

"NO?" Fury stomped towards them. "There are millions of people down there!"  
"We can't let them know we know," Loki stated.

"The whole point of him," Fury pointed to Loki. "Is to get the upper hand."

"With Thanos." Thor turned. "Loki will be sitting this one out."

Loki tilted his head, "We have only a couple of minutes."

The elevator dinged and Steve, Clint and Natasha stepped out.

Coulson headed for them to bring them up to speed.

"Loki, I need a favor," Thor turned to look at his brother.

Loki turned to look at him.

"Protect Jane," Thor glanced at Jane who was looking out the window.

Loki nodded without glancing to her.

"What's the plan?" Steve asked as he walked to the two Asgardians.

Thor and Loki turned. They both glanced at each other but Loki nodded as if to say 'go ahead'.

"As soon as they attack, we will need to get the people out of the city," Thor began.

"I can help with that," Captain America nodded.

"If we are evacuating then I assume that my people can be called?" Fury frowned.

"Yes," Thor frowned.

"We will take the ground," Clint stated and Natasha nodded.

"Stark and I will take the air," Thor stated. He glanced at Tony who was texting.

"Pepper is supposed to get on a plane in twenty minutes to come back, I'm thinking she should wait," Tony stated.

"I'm going to stay here," Bruce said quietly.

"We could use your help," Thor told him.

"I will do more damage while there are civilians still in the city," Bruce shook his head. "I can work with Jarvis to keep a shield around the tower."

"Loki," Thor frowned. "Protect Banner. I prefer to have a bed to sleep in when I return."

"_IF_ you return," Loki smirked.

Thor chuckled, "be safe."

"I will look like Frey if you need me," Loki told him.

There was a large 'crack' as if lightning had stuck nearby.

"Here we go," Thor gripped Mjolnir.

With another large 'crack' the sky ripped open and Chitauri began to pour out of it.

Loki's features shifted into the older sorcerer as he turned and headed for Jane. He grabbed her hand and led her toward the stairs. Darcy and Selvig quickly followed them. "Let's go beastie," Loki smirked at Bruce. Bruce glanced at the Chitauri pouring out of the sky and quickly followed Loki.

"Let's go," Thor whirling his hammer as he ran for the door to the outside. Stark's face plate shifted down and he followed the blond god.

Fury whipped out his phone and began ordering someone on the other line as Coulson did the same.

"Come on," Steve rushed for the stairs and Natasha and Clint followed quickly.

When they reached the streets they could hear screaming from the civilians. Police officers were shooting at the Chitauri as a stampede of people headed in the opposite direction.

"We need to get them to the subway!" Steve yelled. He raced for the police officer. The officer recognized the Avenger who tossed his shield and knocked out the larger of the Chitauri. "We will keep the Chitauri in the center of the city but we need the citizens out of here."

The police officer pulled out the walkie-talkie, "I need the citizens evacuated immediately. Use the subways. Call everyone in, we need to get these people to safety: that is our number one concern.

* * *

Natasha had her back to Clint who was shooting his arrows continuously at the Chitauri heading toward the civilians. The hole above them was still pouring out Chitauri which seemed to be heading for the Avengers in particular. This was obviously about them and not the civilians this time.

Natasha shot the three in front of her. There were many Chitauri but she was still thankful that they hadn't seen any whales yet. That would require for Bruce to change into Hulk.

* * *

Tony flew through the air and shot at several of the Chitauri who were flying around on their small spacecrafts. Lightning shot through the air and brought down 8 flying by. Tony decided he should move a bit out of the god's range.

A loud noise sounded and Tony jerked to a stop. The rip in the sky widened. A roar sounded through the air and a large spacecraft emerged from the rip. It was as large as Stark Tower.

"That's a problem," Tony stared at it wide eyed.

"We have to close the portal!" Thor yelled.

"Yeah, that may have been a good idea about three minutes ago," Tony shot missiles at the giant spacecraft to no effect.

* * *

Bruce fiddled with the main computer in the lab. Loki stared at the screen that showed the outside.

"It's not as many as before, right?" Jane asked Loki.

"Quality over Quantity," Loki frowned.

"They've been taking them down pretty easy," Selvig stated from behind Bruce.

"Thanos wants to wear us down with his lower soldiers," Loki crossed his arms. "His stronger warriors are on the ship."

Darcy watched as the ship opened and Chitauri began pouring out of it. They began attacking the buildings as soon as they could reach them. Stark tower shuddered and all of them looked upward.

"Exactly how safe is the tower?" Darcy watched as dust fell from the ceiling.

"I'm trying to keep Jarvis' shields up," Bruce was quickly pounding away on the keyboard. Loki's eyes darted to the man as sweat began to drip down Banner's brow.

* * *

Natasha kicked the Chitauri back and then shot it in the face. She heard Clint grunt as he hit the floor. She turned and shot at the creature that loomed above him. Clint rolled out of the way of the dead Chitauri and changed his arrows to the exploding kind. He let the arrow fly and it took out a section of the street.

"Where did Cap go?" Clint yelled to Nat.

Natasha whirled around and saw that she didn't see Steve or any civilians down the street. "He's doing his job." She used both of her guns on the advancing Chitauri. All of them fell down except for the larger one. She could see the bullet hole going into its skull but it was still advancing. She continued to shoot at it but it didn't stop.

It grabbed her by the arm and tossed her like a rag doll across the street.

"NAT!" Clint yelled. He shot the exploding arrow into the Chitauri's chest. He ran to get to Natasha and away from the explosion. The Chitauri swelled around him. He couldn't see Nat but he could hear her shooting down the enemy.

"I'm fine!" Nat yelled to him. She looked around at the swarm of Chitauri on the street. "We're going to be fine," she said, almost to herself.

* * *

Iron man continued to shoot at the Chitauri's leaving the ship. "How many more are going to come out of this thing?"

Thor slammed his hammer against the force field. The area around it lit up in a brilliant green from the impact, but then faded. Thor roared and tried again to no avail. "I will remove the barrier."

"Whatever you say Bam-Bam," Tony flew away from the god and started to take down the Chitauri in the air. "Jarvis, are there any civilians left in the city?"

"I'm showing several human life forms inside of Stark tower. The next closest civilian is over a mile out." Jarvis responded.

"Thank you, Cap." Tony flew lower and began shooting the Chitauri on the ground. "Where are Agent Romanoff and Barton?"

"South of us, Sir," Jarvis responded.

"Let's light these guys up then," Tony smirked.

"We have a bit of a problem," Bruce felt sweat going down his brow. His breath was becoming ragged.

Loki eyed the man warily. He was more than aware how that green beast felt about him and didn't feel like being on the receiving end of that.

Selvig made his way to Bruce, "What is it-"

The door crashed open and a Chitauri soldier pointed its weapon at them. Immediately it fell to the ground with a knife embedded in its neck. Loki made his way to the door and peered out into the hallway. "Banner, grab your device."

Bruce gripped the counter which crumpled underneath his hand. He looked up at Loki as his eyes tried to turn green. "GO!"

Loki frowned, "take a deep breath." He eyed the man warily. Barton was doing his best to get his heart rate under control. The others were making their way to the door. "Calm down and I will keep the Chitauri away."

Bruce shook his head as he tried to take deep breaths, "I'll hurt them."

The others eyed him warily but Loki merely grabbed his knife out of the Chitauri's neck. "Then I will throw you out the window at the Chitauri," Loki stated. "Breathe."

Bruce breathed raggedly but his eyes were less wild.

"Better?" Loki asked.

Bruce nodded and grabbed his tablet. He took slow deep breaths as he followed the others down the hall. Loki made sure to go a bit slower for the beast, also he was supposed to be pretending he was an old man. He took out two Chitauri on the way up the stairs to the penthouse. When he reached the penthouse he noted that there was a large hole in the window. He glanced around the room.

"Here," he handed Jane the formidable looking knife. He glanced around the room but there seemed to be no Chitauri around.

Darcy screamed.

Loki turned and grabbed the skull of the Chitauri who had rushed up to them and snapped its neck. It fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

* * *

Fury looked up from his phone as he heard a scream from inside the tower. He glanced at Coulson who pulled his gun out.

"SHIELD will be here in twenty minutes," Coulson stated as he put his phone in his pocket and took his gun with both of his hands.

"Do we have twenty minutes?" Fury frowned.

* * *

Natasha ran from the overwhelming amount of Chitauri. She had to find higher ground, or at least a place where she could reload her guns and keep taking these creatures. She rounded the corner and gasped in pain. A Chitauri had slashed her across the stomach. She hit the Chitauri with the butt of her gun and fell against the wall. She quickly reloaded her gun and shot the Chitauri in the face. It fell down immediately but she could see more coming from down the street.

Natasha grunted as she pushed herself off the wall. She ran into the nearest building, trying to load her guns as she ran. Her stomach cried out in pain but she ignored it. When she got to the second floor she finished reloading and took a spot at the window.

She could see Clint perched up on top of a fire engine, shooting any Chitauri that came close. He was scanning the mass amounts of them. She knew he was looking for her. She began shooting the Chitauri on the ground.

Just as she was reloading again she felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise. She rolled to her right just as a spear was thrust at the window. Natasha peered up to see the Chitauri glare at her. It had a trickle of blood coming from the bullet hole in its head.

Natasha shot at it but it rushed her. Its hard body slammed her against the wall and she cried out in pain. She pulled a knife from her boot and slashed it across the face. It roared in anger. She kicked its feet out from under it and used her foot to snap its neck. She breathed heavily at the exertion and bent to pick up her weapon.

The creature rose with a roar and grabbed her arm. Natasha heard the crack of bones. She could see the protrusion of white on her arm. She swung out with her other arm and slashed its throat with her knife. The creature grabbed its throat as it spurted blood. With its last ounce of effort it kicked Natasha out the window.

* * *

Captain America raced for the center of the city where the fighting was. The police department and fire department were in the middle of a full scale evacuation. Now that they were at the edge of the city they didn't seem to need him as much. Steve knew that he would be of better use in the fight. He shot the first Chitauri to come into his path. He looked up and saw Chitauri entering Stark Tower. He frowned and hoped that Loki wouldn't bail on the others.

He turned a corner and was met with thirty Chitaurian stares.

"Uh-oh," Steve raised his shield.

* * *

Thor landed on a building as he tried to regain his breath. The shield was one of superior magic. He was sure Loki could take it down but Thor knew they couldn't let Thanos know he was here. Thor looked around. He could Stark being thrown into a building from a blast. He spotted Barton on the ground but no Natasha. The captain was fighting a whole battle unit several streets down from Barton. He then turned to see a huge hole in Stark Tower. _We are outmatched._

Thor flew into the hole in Stark Tower. As soon as he passed the threshold he could see Jane, Darcy, Selvig, Bruce and Frey. Frey's features shifted back into Loki's.

"We are losing this battle," Thor headed for Loki.

"I noticed," Loki frowned. Thor could see five dead Chitaurians on the ground and pieces of Chitauri all around.

"We need your help," Thor told him.

Loki eyed him, "If I go out there then we have already lost."

"I don't want you out there," Thor shook his head.

Loki tilted his head in question.

"I think it's time for some dark magic."

The corners of Loki's mouth lifted into a devious smirk.

**I have been thinking about this for like three weeks, so hopefully you guys like my next chapter. If I can't get it out today then I will do my best to get it out tomorrow. :D**


	20. Dark Magic

**A special thanks to Magentarosegallifrey for reviewing so quick and having me write this so quickly. Hopefully you like it.**

**I also want to thank Aa826 for always being there to listen to my rants on the sexy Tom Hiddleston and my freaking out about how to put a chapter together. **

Thor looked out the window at the chaos that was happening to the city. It was apparent that the Chitauri were not actually after any civilians but after the Avengers themselves.

"You are going to have to be a bit more specific," Loki called to him.

Thor turned to Loki, "Remember the spell you used in Svartalfheim when we were about 400?"

Loki paused, "the one that had the trees attacking people or the one you made me promise to never ever do again for as long as I lived?"

Thor glared at him which made Loki's smirk grow larger. "What do you need?"

Loki glanced around him at the Chitauri laying on the floor. He glanced back out the window. "I need someone high up."

"Done," Thor turned to leave.

"When you leave, call back to us," Loki started. "Tell us to protect Jane with our lives."

"You wish to use Jane as bait?!" Thor thundered.

"Well, yes," Loki shrugged. "It will make them flock here."

"We only need one," Thor reminded him.

"The one who will flock here will be the one who believes he can take you," Loki smirked. His features shifted into Fury's. "And he will think he has us cornered."

Thor frowned and turned on his heel. Right before he leapt off the building he shouted back, "Protect Jane with your life!"

Loki turned to look at Jane, "You stay up against that wall." He pointed to the wall opposite of the window. "No matter what happens, you stay there!"

Jane nodded and scooted back to the wall.

* * *

"NATASHA!" Clint yelled from the top of the fire truck. He looked around in vain. He shot an arrow down at the growing amount of Chitauri soldiers who were now rocking the vehicle as well as climbing it. He shot another arrow down and sent one of the Chitauri flying down into the mass of creatures.

He couldn't stay here. He was running low on arrows and only had a few exploding ones left. He shot one of the exploding arrows down to clear a path. Clint jumped down and hit the ground with a roll. He pulled out of it and shot a Chitauri in the face.

He glanced around and then ran. He grabbed a Chitauri spear and chucked it at one of the creatures. He glanced down the streets but he didn't see Natasha.

* * *

Tony yelled as he pushed the Chitauri down to his knees.

"Sir, the Chitauri seems to be at a 400% increase in strength from the ones you fought before," Jarvis told him.

"I noticed!" Tony yelled and shot blasts into the creature.

"They are also more structurally sound," Jarvis told him. "It will take more energy to bring them down."

"Noted!" Tony leapt from the building and began shooting up the streets again.

* * *

Fury shot the Chitauri in the face and Coulson managed to slice one across the throat.

"I think it's time we move the hell out of here," Fury yelled as he headed for the door.

"We may be able to get Stark's attention from the top level," Coulson followed behind the Director.

"We still have 8 minutes before the cavalry comes in to save our asses," Fury knocked down a Chitauri. "Where are these things coming from? I thought Bruce had the shield up."

The building shook violently.

"That can't be good," Fury frowned and immediately took the stairs.

* * *

Loki, who still looked like Fury, paced with his gun out. He was muttering strange words that Jane couldn't understand.

Lightning lit up the sky and Loki turned to see something heading straight for them. He aimed his gun at the creature as it flew into the window. As soon as it landed, Loki shot it in the chest. The Chitauri growled at him but seemed otherwise unhurt.

"Get back!" Loki yelled at it angrily. He took several steps backward, leading the Chitauri further into the room. The Chitauri followed him. Loki shot it again in the chest and it roared at him. Loki looked terrified as he took several more steps back.

Jane grabbed Darcy's arm when she felt the woman start to bolt. Loki had told them to stay put no matter what. Knowing the god of mischief, this was nothing but an act.

The door to the stairs slammed open, making them all glance that way. Fury stepped out with his gun raised quickly followed by Coulson. Fury aimed immediately at the Chitauri who was cornering the others.

"LOOK AT ME!" Loki yelled to the Chitauri. The Chitauri paused and looked between the two identical men.

The real Fury shot it in the head. Loki swore loudly. The Chitauri growled and started for Fury and Coulson.

"LOOK AT ME!" Loki yelled again as he shifted back into his normal form.

The Chitauri stopped dead in its tracks. It recognized the supposedly-dead sorcerer. With a roar it rushed Loki. Loki side stepped and tossed it against the wall. The creature was up immediately and slamming Loki into the floor. The Asgardian rolled out of its way and sent a kick to its face. The Chitauri rushed him again and slammed him against the wall a few feet from the others, its hand closing on Loki's throat. Loki brought his hands up to the creatures head and chanted something. The creature backed up and gripped its head as if in pain.

Loki rushed forward but the creature swiped outward, clawing Loki's face. Loki wiped the blood away with his sleeve and tried again. He sent the creature to the floor with him on top of it. He chanted more words as he held his hands on top of its skin. The Chitauri roared and tossed Loki off of him.

The creature rose quickly and raced for the door.

"No." Loki growled. Shadows leapt from their normal positions and grabbed onto the limbs of the Chitauri. It began yelling in its own language. "I need to borrow you."

Loki calmly walked over to the creature who was suspended in the air. He stretched his hands out in front of him and then jerked his hands outward. Immediately the skin and armor ripped off of the creature. The skin hovered in pieces in a sphere around the creature. Loki continued his slow movement to the creature and mimicked his movement from before. This time the muscles pulled away from the creature and floated in a smaller sphere within the first. He did the movement one last time and the organs made a third smaller sphere while leaving the skeletal system behind.

Fury held his gun on the trickster god. He watched as Loki reached inside of the skeletal frame, which was floating in midair, and grab something from within it. Loki held his hand out but Fury could see nothing but thin air. Then it glowed brightly. It was a tiny sphere, about the size of an orange. Loki muttered words to it.

Thor entered the window and glanced to Loki. He frowned at the display but said nothing. He looked back to the outside.

"They are focusing on the Avengers, and there is a shield up on the ship," Thor told Loki.

Loki didn't respond. Instead he blew on the glowing sphere. Immediately black wisps swirled into the sphere until it encompassed it. Loki held his hand out and the sphere shivered. The sphere split into five spheres rotating around a larger sphere about the size of a ping-pong ball. They whirled around the larger sphere a few times and then Loki threw his hand backward, forcing the smaller spheres backward. They each went into a dead Chitauri body.

"Get up," Loki ordered.

The Chitauri began to jerk and move to standing positions. Sounds of their necks cracking back into place had Darcy gripping Jane's arm in fear. The creatures stood at attention and Loki turned. The larger sphere still in his hand.

"Destroy things," he ordered. The Chitauri on the left roared and raced out of the building.

Loki smirked, "Find Barton, shoot him-but miss. Take out your comrades instead." The Chitauri raced for the stairs. Fury jerked backward as it ran past him.

Loki glanced to the next one, "Run back to the ship as if something is wrong. Trip on your own feet and fall into the energy pit that is fueling the ship." The Chitauri ran for the window, leapt out and caught one of the spacecrafts flying by.

"Take one of your grenades," Loki told the next one, "And hold onto it too long after pulling the pin. Make sure you are around quite a few of your friends." The Chitauri nodded and raced out the window. It used its claws to go down the side of the building.

"Attack the Iron Man," Loki told the last one. He waved his hand and explosives from the massacred Chitauri flew to the one standing in front of him. "You will explode far away from him. Taking out others." The Chitauri raced out of the room.

Loki turned his gaze onto the Chitauri who was still in pieces. He smirked and walked to the center of the spheres. Slowly and carefully he put the black sphere into the middle of the body. He stretched his hands out as if grabbing onto the air and pulled it inward. The organs flew back into place, followed by its muscles and then finally its skin. The creature blinked and its eyes turned completely black.

"_You_," Loki smirked deviously, "are going to panic and run for the ship. You are going to issue a retreat and try to contact Thanos to say that the Avengers are too powerful. You will accidentally hit the buttons that control the energy pit. You will panic and make things even worse causing the ship to explode. You will NOT tell anyone about me."

The Chitauri blinked and its eyes went back to normal. It made its way back to the door. "Oh, and if you somehow survive the explosion," The Chitauri turned to look back at Loki who ran his finger over his throat. The Chitauri raced out of the building in a panic.

"Chase after him, brother," Loki smirked.

Thor smirked back at Loki's slip, "and if I catch him?"  
Loki's eyes turned black, "You won't."

* * *

Captain America ran for Clint. For some reason the archer was all on his own in the middle of the street. _Where is Natasha?_

Steve's eyes widened as he saw the Chitauri take aim and fire at his friend. Somehow the creature missed and took out the others coming up on Clint's other side. Clint turned and took out the Chitauri who had shot at him.

Steve grunted as he was caught off guard by a Chitauri who threw him into the alley. He used the side of his shield to knock it against the wall. Its skull cracked and Steve pulled himself up. He looked behind him to see if there were more Chitauri down the alley and he paused. He glanced back to where Clint was and then hurried further down the alley. He could have sworn he had seen red hair.

Steve's eyes widened. A few feet from the building on the right was Natasha who was covered in rubble and blood. "NAT!"

* * *

Tony zoomed away from the mass of Chitauri that was swarming him. He tossed out a few fires that knocked some of the weaker ones down. He turned to see a large Chitauri zooming past him on a space craft, he ducked past it and landed on a building. The creature clawed at him as it went by again.

"Want to play?" Tony jumped down. If he was going to take out the bastard then he might as well take out several.

As he hit the ground he looked up to see the Chitauri following him. He also saw another Chitauri racing to the ship with Thor on his tail. Thor was trying to hit it with lightning and failing.

"That's not good," Tony jerked out of the way as the Chitauri jumped to the ground. Tony smirked and shot a blast at him. He was thrown backward at the intensity of the sudden explosion. He groaned as he lay in the street.

"Integrity is down to 48%," Jarvis warned Tony.

"Ugh!" Tony groaned. He pulled himself up and noticed that the blast had taken out at least twenty of the creatures. "That was unexpected."

* * *

Bruce was trying to breathe. He was trying not to think about how Loki was controlling things yet again. He was trying not to think about how he had pulled a creature apart with just a few flicks of his hands.

"Sir, we may have a situation," Coulson eyed Bruce.

"Damn right we do," Fury started marching over to Loki.

"We need the shields to go up," Loki turned to look at Fury. His eyes were still black. "The ship is going to blow and I'm not sure what will be incinerated and what will crash down on us."

"First, why don't you tell me what the hell that was," Fury demanded.

Loki shook his head, "I'm a bit busy."

"Doing what?" Fury asked. "Controlling people?"

"Yes," Loki said simply. He concentrated on the visions in his head. A Chitauri had just pulled the pin on its grenade. Loki waited and a few moments later the connection between him and the Chitauri was lost. "Three down." Loki stated. He concentrated and saw that there was the Chitauri destroying the city, another was racing through the ship. And the last was running for the control panel to the ship.

"How much longer," Banner tried to breathe smoothly.

"The Chitauri is ….has now tripped and fallen into the energy," Loki winced and shook his head. The Chitauri had stayed alive long enough for Loki to witness the flailing and blinding light. "The other is about to issue a retreat."

"I'll get those….shields up," Bruce breathed.

Loki's eyes immediately reverted to their normal state. "Do I need to throw you out the window?"

Bruce chuckled, "possibly."

"Get the shield up first," Loki told him and his eyes went black again. "Thor will whine for months if I let Jane get killed."

* * *

Steve pulled Natasha into his arms. He could see that she was breathing and that she was just unconscious. He pulled her to him and winced at the bone protruding from her arm. He frowned as he looked around for something to wrap her wound with but everything was covered in rubble. He looked around him and noted that there weren't any Chitauri in the alley. He couldn't just leave his friend here. He stood up all the way as he tried to figure out a way to get her to the tower without being attacked.

He jerked back against the wall as a large screeching noise resounded. Steve grunted. If his arms were free then he would have covered his ears, but he had to protect Natasha. He nearly chuckled to himself at the look Natasha would give him if she ever heard him say that.

He looked down at Natasha and pulled her closer to him. He'd rather have her yelling at him than her be like this.

* * *

Clint fell backward from the mad rush of Chitauri heading back for the ship. He spotted one of them ignoring the loud screeching noise and continuing its destruction. He shot it in the head. He wasn't sure what the hell was happening.  
"About time to get back to the tower," he muttered. He looked around for Natasha but still didn't see her. He frowned and assumed she had caught a ride with one of the Chitauri spacecrafts.

He waited for an opening and ran for the tower.

* * *

Thor made his way back into the tower. "How much longer?" He said as he made his way to his brother.

Loki frowned, "he's pressing buttons now. Are the Chitauri back on board?"

"Almost," Thor looked back out the window.

"Let it fall," Loki warned and his eyes reverted to normal. He knew that Thor was thinking about destroying the ship before it hit the ground.

"It will destroy the city," Thor frowned.

"It has to look like an accident," Loki growled. "You go out there and look confused. Not hard for you, I imagine."

Thor made a noise of irritation.

"Shields are up," Bruce told them. Both Asgardians looked over to Bruce who seemed much calmer now.

Thor made his way to the window, "They are almost all aboard."

Loki's eyes reverted to black, "now." The Chitauri's finger slipped and the energy pit fluctuated. Immediately alarms blared as it spun out of control from the excess energy and the Chitauri body inside the pit.

"Now what?" Fury asked warily.

"I would hold onto something," Loki told them.

* * *

"Sir," Jarvis said to Tony who was perched on a building. "The energy in the ship is spiking to dangerous levels. I suggest cover is in order."

Tony frowned and looked down at the mostly empty streets. All the Chitauri had made their way back to the ship. He could see Barton running to the tower. He leapt down and flew for the archer. "Is there a focal point on that thing?" He raced downward. "Jarvis!"

"The center. It seems as if the energy is building quickly sir," Jarvis answered. "There is no outside focal point."

Barton looked up just in time to see Tony right before he was picked up.

"Hey, birdie." Tony flew them toward the tower. "I think it's about time you flew."

He made it through the window when they heard the explosion.

Tony whirled around and saw the ship imploding on itself. Its own shield held for a moment, containing some of the blast. But quickly it failed, and burning pieces fell to the ground.

Fury rushed for the window. The majority of the ship burned up with the intense heat of the blast but many of the pieces fell to the streets and buildings.

"Where's Natasha?" Clint looked around the room. An explosion echoed outside.

"She's not here," Fury said quietly as he watched debris knocking chunks off of buildings.

"Neither is Rogers," Coulson frowned.

"Tell me how the hell this was such a good idea," Fury turned to glare at Loki.

Loki shrugged and jerked his shoulder to Thor, "It was his idea."

"I don't give a damn whose idea it was!" Fury yelled. "We have two Avengers missing and you are messing with people's minds again."

"Say what?" Clint raised his brows and turned to look at them.

"They were already dead," Loki shrugged.

Fury got up in Loki's face, "exactly what all can you do?" He eyed the god.

Loki smirked at him.

"He saved us-that should count for something," Jane spoke up.

"To save his own damn ass!" Fury pulled out his gun and put it to the god's head. "Tell me why I shouldn't pull this trigger?"  
"Pull it and I will show you how slowly I can take a person apart while keeping them alive," Loki continued to smirk.

"Loki," Thor warned.

"He's got a weapon to my head," Loki blinked in innocence.

"It can't hurt you," Thor waved his hand dismissively.

"This one is special," Loki said. "Built just for me."

Thor paused and looked back at the gun that Fury had to his little brother's head and then the look of malice on the director's face. "Remove it."

Fury eyed the god of thunder before pulling the gun back.

"It still wouldn't have killed me," Loki said offhandedly. "Just hurt a lot."

The door to the stairs slammed open and Captain America stumbled in carrying Natasha.

"I need help!" He yelled.

Immediately Clint made a dash for his friend. She was covered in debris and he could see bone. "Bruce can you fix her?"

"Uh, set her on the table," he motioned to the table across the room.

Steve quickly set her down and took a step back to give Banner some room. "The stomach wound looks superficial. Though her arm is definitely broken. I'd need my lab to see if she has internal bleeding but it's probably smashed. Chitauri were down there."

Thor turned to Loki, "Please help."

Loki shrugged and made his way over to Natasha. He didn't really want to use more magic considering how much energy he has to expend on the shadow spell. But at the same time he had been waiting for someone to ask him to help. He knew that Midgardian's were not as good at healing as Asgardians. Wounds like this could mean death for some of them if not treated properly. He looked down at the woman and found that it bothered him to see her in such a state. He told himself because he needed every Avenger ready to fight for the battle with Thanos.

Loki placed his hands on her stomach and closed his eyes. He concentrated and tried to feel if there were any lacerations, cuts or protrusions inside her. He furrowed his brow.

"There's nothing bleeding….but she's missing something…" He blinked in surprise. He had a basic knowledge of the female body and he was quite sure she was missing a vital part in the process of creating a baby.

Bruce cleared his throat, "if you're talking about what I think you're talking about, then that's a pre-existing condition."

Loki shrugged and placed both of his hands on her arm. The majority of her damage was the break in the bone. He took a deep breath and concentrated on the flesh and bone beneath his fingers which glowed light blue.

"He can heal?" Steve glanced for around for confirmation.

"Supposedly," Fury crossed his arms. He had seen the god do it to Thor but it was a small burn. He raised a brow as he saw the woman's flesh move underneath Loki's hands.

Loki moved the muscles and veins as he tried to move the bone back in without causing much damage. Natasha started to groan in pain. It bothered him. Loki concentrated harder and shoved the bone into place. The bone scraped against its counterpart as it found where it was supposed to be. Natasha began groaning again, pulling out of her unconscious state.

The bone mended, one he knew to be a painful process. Natasha's eyes shot open and she let out a bloodcurdling scream. Loki gritted his teeth and pushed the muscles and veins back into place as the woman thrashed. Thor started to head for Loki to pin the woman down seeing as Loki required both his hands for the process.

"Thor-" Loki was cut off as Natasha's other fist connected with his nose. He jerked back in surprise and his hands stopped glowing immediately. He stared at her incredulously as she gripped her wounded arm.

Thor grabbed his brother's shoulders, "She didn't mean it."

Loki felt blood trickle down his nose which irritated him to no end. He glared at her with malice as she writhed in pain on the table. Tears left trails down her dirt covered face.  
"She's still bleeding," Clint told him.

"The bone is mended," Loki wiped his nose with his fingers and then looked at the blood.

"She isn't fully healed-" Thor began.

"This is why I don't help people," Loki wiped the rest of the blood off of his nose.

"Loki, heal her!" Thor ordered.

"No," Loki shook his head. "She doesn't want my help."

Thor grew irritated, "She is in a lot of pain-"

"Exactly." Loki snapped in irritation. He honestly had enough of these people asking him for help and then yelling at him. "That process hurts for us, how do you think if feels for them? She wanted the pain to stop-I stopped. She can heal the rest herself."

Thor looked back to the half-conscious woman on the table. She was gripping her bloody arm. Clint was using paper towels to stop the bleeding.

Loki sighed and headed for the stairs, he had had enough of this crowd.

"Loki?" Thor followed him to the stairs. "She will be alright?"

Loki shrugged, "She is no longer in any danger."

With that, Loki headed out of the room and down the stairs. He was irritated. It wasn't the fact that Fury had held that pitiful weapon to his head. It wasn't the way Jane and Darcy looked at him in fear after turning those Chitauri loose. It wasn't the fact he had slipped into old habits and called Thor 'brother'. What was bothering him more than anything was the woman who was semi-conscious in the other room.

He had seen her like that and wanted to help her immediately. His brain prevented him from doing something so stupid. Instead he had waited tensely for someone to remember that he could help her: someone to ask for his help. And then her scream had grated his nerves. It was nothing like the scream he normally pulled from her. He had hated it; wanted to stop it. Loki opened his door and shut it quickly behind him as he mulled over his thoughts.

He decided that he cared purely because she was helping him get through the weeks until Thanos arrived. Without her he had no better way of getting to sleep. No way of getting past the nightmares. She was also one of the few in this tower he semi-tolerated. He told himself that he needed her for the next couple of weeks-nothing more.

**:D :D :D :D :D :D **

**I hope you all enjoyed. I blew off my homework for the day (I can do it later) just so I could post these two chapters together for you guys. I really hope you like the dark magic spell because I have toying with that idea for-ev-er! Loki is such a badass. Again, look up his stuff in Marvel. He's like the most powerful sorcerer ever. **

**I'm playing with the ideas for the next chapter. Not a 100% yet. Very likely it will be next weekend before I post. Unless I get done with homework early (God I hope so).**

**As always, reviews make me do a crazy happy dance.**


	21. Healing

**Sorry it took so long guys, but in great news: i made a 100% on my first International Economics exam! *Does a nerdy dance* **

**Anywho, this chapter is a birthday present for one of my most awesome friends aa826! I'm really happy that you help me so much with my writing and that you are always such a great friend. I will post a smutty chapter for you soon. :D**

Natasha's eyes felt heavy. She was drifting in from consciousness slowly but chose to keep her eyes shut. Partially due to the fact that she felt like she could keep sleeping, and also because she was aware she was lying on her back. That was a position she didn't normally fall asleep in.

Natasha peeked out her right eye and realized she was in her room at Tony's. She noted that Steve was in a chair by her bed, currently passed out with his hand propping up his head. She opened her eyes fully and took a look around. The window blinds were open and she could see daylight streaming in.

"Nat?" Natasha turned her head to see Clint coming out of her bathroom.

"Morning," she nodded at him. She started to move to get up but stopped when Clint suddenly rushed for her.

"Let me help you," he reached for her.

"What?" Natasha swatted his hand away and immediately regretted it. Her right arm was on fire! She bit her lip and held the limb.

"Wha?" Steve jerked up from his sleep.

"Nat's awake," Clint told him. He then helped Natasha up to sitting position.

"What happened?" Natasha groaned. Her stomach was in a lot of pain too.

"The Chitauri attacked," Steve rubbed his eye.

"Yeah, I remember that," Natasha winced. "One of them broke…" she looked down at her arm. It was in a lot of pain but there was no longer bone showing.

"Loki healed it," Natasha looked up at Steve. "Because he can apparently do that."

"Why?" Natasha furrowed her brow.

"Thor asked him to," Clint frowned. "He wouldn't finish healing you though."  
"He said that the process hurt too much for you," Steve frowned. "You were screaming."

"I think he's just mad because Nat punched him in the face," Clint sat on the bed.

"What?" Natasha looked to Steve.

"Yeah," Clint smirked. "You punched him square in the nose and made it bleed."

"Surprised he didn't kick my ass," Natasha muttered. _I'm going to pay for that later._

"Probably be a good idea to sidestep him for a minute," Steve frowned. "He wasn't happy."

"I think it be a good idea if we all got the hell away from him," Clint crossed his arms. He frowned and shook his head.

"What's going on? What happened?" Natasha looked at both of them.

"Well, we won," Steve half-smiled. "The Chitauri are now gone."

"Fury showed us what he did," Clint growled. "How Loki _saved_ the day."

Steve looked down but didn't say anything.

"Loki did a spell," Clint grimaced. "He took one of those things and ripped it apart with his magic. Just left the pieces floating in the air."

Natasha glanced at Steve but Steve was looking out the window.

"And as Thor puts it, 'Loki took its light away' and then turned it black and used it to control it and 5 others of those things."

"Control?" Natasha frowned. "Like before?"

"No," Steve shook his head solemnly. "Not like before."

"They were puppets, and he sent them to their deaths without batting his eyes," Clint glared at the floor. "He made the big one blow up the ship and destroy the rest."

"What did Fury do?" Natasha asked. She was sure that Fury was not happy about this.

"Well, he showed everyone who wasn't there the feed from Stark's stuff," Steve sighed. "Pretty gruesome. But Loki's been in his room ever since."

"Why?" Natasha frowned.

"Who cares?" Clint frowned. "He's still controlling people. Who's to say he won't do that to us when this big bad shows up?"

Steve frowned, "I don't agree with what Loki did…BUT…he saved all of our butts."

Clint frowned and pushed off of the bed, "he pulled him apart!"  
"Thor said that he made Loki perform the spell, obviously there's a reason that Loki didn't want to perform it," Steve said.

"It's not because he has a conscious," Clint crossed his arms.

"He seemed kind of upset when everyone ganged up on him," Steve shrugged.

Clint rolled his eyes, "he looked murderous."

"Yeah, I figure that is upset for him," Steve shrugged.

Clint looked to Natasha, "Just do me a favor and stay as far away from him as possible while you heal."

* * *

It was the middle of the night before she was able to convince Steve and Clint that she was fine and that she would kick their asses if they didn't leave her alone. Between Clint's ranting for them to stay away from Loki and the fact that she had grown accustomed to getting her needs satisfied each night, Natasha quickly headed to Loki's room.

Natasha quietly shut Loki's door behind her and made her way into the room. Loki was sitting upright, reading a book by the lamplight. She noted that it was the spell book that he had gotten from Frey. She also noted that he was in the sweatpants again.

Loki's eyes shifted to look at her, but they shifted right back to his book without him saying a word.

Natasha suppressed a smirk. Men were such babies when it came to their pride. She sat on the side of the bed, mindful of how she bent due to her stomach.

"I wanted to come by and say thank you for fixing the arm," Natasha told him. Not a complete lie. If the arm had remained broken then she may not have been able to even join in the fight with Thanos.

Loki merely flipped the page on his book.

"And to apologize for punching you in the nose," Natasha said.

Loki turned his head, "you are here because Barton is fuming about me and wants everyone to stay as far away from me as possible. Which naturally has you wanting relations with me."

"I wouldn't say no to sex," Natasha shrugged.

"I would," Loki looked back down to his book.

Natasha blinked in surprise, "is this because I made your nose bleed?"

Loki smacked her bad arm and Natasha gasped in pain.

"My arm was broken!" Natasha glared at him.

"But it seems as if it was my blow that did all the damage," Loki smirked. "I had already received blows to my nose before you hit it. Your hit was merely the finishing touch after that Chitauri."

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the jerk. "How about I make it bleed again?"

Loki shook his head, "this is why I don't help people."

Natasha watched him return to his book and found herself irked. She had come her for a reason and she was going to get what she came for.

Loki looked over the page: it was about creating blackholes. An interesting thought. But Loki frowned at the description. It required lots of time to set up and had to be activated by someone close by-someone who generally got sucked up with it. _A giant 'no' to that._ Loki didn't move as Natasha moved up against him and bit his ear. The damned woman had found one of his sensitive spots and was going to use it to her advantage as much as possible. Not that Loki was complaining. He was actually trying his best to keep quiet as she began running her tongue over the whorls of his ear.

The woman definitely had a plan in mind. She was now trailing down his neck while her left hand was snaking lower. Her hand felt so good on his cock. She knew exactly how much to squeeze against his flesh to make his toes twitch and want to curl. He lifted his hips when she pulled on the hem of his pants so that he was exposed to her.

Her mouth was something straight from Valhalla. It was tight, hot and that tongue would put Amora to shame. He was growing in her mouth, filling it up as he grew more and more excited. His head had fallen back against the headboard at some point and he found himself looking at the ceiling. He blinked as he felt her sucking against him gently. He furrowed his brow as he realized that Natasha wasn't one for gentle-not normally. Loki looked down and frowned. Natasha was taking him fully into her mouth, which was something he generally enjoyed, but she was also holding her right arm up off of the bed so she wouldn't put pressure on it. Loki almost swore when he noticed that Natasha was also holding herself parallel to the bed as much as possible.

Loki pulled himself back into sitting position, immediately missing the heat and pressure against his cock. Natasha looked at him with confusion and he grabbed her good arm, twirled her around and pulled her back up against his chest. His right hand held onto her wounded arm and he wrapped his other arm around her and placed his palm against her stomach.

"What are you doing?" Natasha wriggled against him.

"Healing you," Loki nipped at her ear and then sucked on her lobe. "That way I can do what I really want to do to you." Natasha's body shivered against him in anticipation and she heard him chuckle against her ear.

Natasha felt tingling in her stomach and arm. It felt itchy, almost ache-y. "I thought this was supposed to be really painful."

"I slowed it down," Loki stated. "You are not in immediate danger."

"You can speed it up if you like," she leaned her head back onto his shoulder.

Loki shook his head, "I'm not sure when it will be painful for you. I don't want you to still be in pain when I take you."

Natasha grabbed the remote off of the nightstand. She turned on the tv to the food channel. "What do you want to watch?"

"Don't care," Loki nibbled on her neck.

"Loki," Natasha moaned. "Quit!"

"Why?" Loki smirked against her flesh.

"Because I can't do anything until you finish healing me," Natasha told him.

"You'll get plenty then," Loki smirked. "First thing I am going to do is make you scream my name while you ride my face."

Natasha licked her lips in anticipation. She was sure the 'silvertongue' could tell her all sorts of things he could do to her. "Is that all?"

Loki grinned, "No." He grazed his teeth over her skin. "I'll bend you over the bed and thrust until you can't feel your legs. Make you hoarse from screaming. And then, I will take you again."

Natasha could feel the wetness between her legs. She needed all of that. She needed Loki. "Then I suggest you hurry up with this healing."

Loki only chuckled.

* * *

They had been sitting on the bed for nearly an hour. Loki now had a list of types of foods he wished to try and Natasha was just laughing at how excited he got watching the show 'Chopped.' She drummed her fingers against Loki's kneecap that was up against her. Her muscles ached. It wasn't quite painful but it wasn't pleasant either. She leaned her head back against Loki and noticed that he looked very tired.

"Are you worn out from that spell you performed?" Natasha asked during a commercial.

Loki sighed, "What did they tell you about the spell?"

"It was a horrible abomination and you are a horrible person for using it," Natasha shrugged.

"It's a spell that I found when I was much younger. The spell doesn't require much…magical energy BUT it requires lots of concentration and a lot of energy to sustain it," Loki tried to explain. "I was not aware of the latter until I performed it when I was 750."

"Things go wrong?" Natasha asked.

"I fainted," Loki chuckled. "When I woke up, Thor made me promise to never do the spell again."

"Did you lose?" Natasha asked.

"No," Loki shook his head. "But Thor felt that we didn't fight fair."

"Because you took over a handful of people?" Natasha frowned.

"I took over a hundred people that time," Loki sighed. "There was a huge battle against us and there were many bodies to choose from. But it was exhausting because I could see each and every one of their sights until they finished their mission."

"So Thor made you do the spell and then heal me?" Natasha asked.

"Yes," Loki nodded.

"And now everyone is on your case," Natasha snorted. "You should put a snake in his bed."

Loki's eyebrow rose at that comment. "That's not a bad idea."

"Here to help," Natasha grinned. She wriggled down against his chest and grinned as the show came back on.

* * *

Natasha smiled in her sleepiness. She had never felt so comfy and at ease. She wanted to stay in this bed forever and sleep the day away. She nuzzled her pillow and pulled the pillow she was holding even closer.

Except it didn't feel like a pillow.

Natasha furrowed her brow and ran her fingers of the somewhat smooth flesh that was in her grasp. Her eyes shot open and she found herself wrapped in Loki's arms. His right arm was underneath her holding her close while the left one was the one she had just been clutching to her. Natasha turned to see that the god was still in a deep sleep.

With as much calmness that she could muster, Natasha pulled away from the lean arms. Loki made no move to pull her back. Natasha jumped to her feet the second she could and she looked back to Loki in a panic. Her mind was racing. Why would he hold me like that? Why would Loki cuddle? She tried to calm herself as she took several steps backward.  
Loki, meanwhile, made a noise in his sleep and rolled over onto his back. Natasha felt her heartbeat speed up and she felt every fiber of her being screaming for her to run. _This is just sex, why would he do that? Why would he ruin it?_ Natasha turned and raced for the door.

**I hope you guys liked this chapter. I know it was short and you waited all week for it. I'm only half way through my class so it may be another week before I get to post. Good news is that the class is over July 10th and I will be able to work on it a lot more. You guys are going to love the ending :D but don't freak. I have more fun chapters before we hit that**

**again, Happy Birthday aa826!**


	22. What in the Hell?

**I didn't die! So very sorry it took so long. I got caught up with the last week of my summer classes and this chapter was (and is) uber long. I was almost done with it when my wonderful toddler decided to dump a whole freaking soda on my laptop. Imagine my dismay as i picked the damn thing up and soda poured out of the edge of the wonderfully expensive laptop I loved dearly. FYI that is now a paperweight while I save up for a new motherboard, BUT after a week I was able to get someone to pull my documents off of it. And all of you are like, OMG why the hell is she still talking? Bring on the Loki...I shall.**

Loki didn't bother with much this morning. He tossed on his Midgardian clothes and headed for food. He didn't want to stay in his room any longer. If he did then he would just think. Specifically he would overanalyze his dreams from the night before.

Loki ran his fingers through his hair. He had bothered to make sure it was looking decent, but he knew there were a few hairs going crazy. He sighed as he entered the elevator. The dream from last night was extremely vivid. Then again Loki always had vivid dreams. It was a wonderful thing when he was dreaming of sleeping with beautiful women, but horrible when it was a nightmare.

Loki nearly snorted. He, of all people, actually had a legitimate nightmare the night before. He shook his head and headed out the elevator doors as soon as they opened. He headed straight for the kitchen, ignoring the glares that Coulson, Fury and Barton sent his way from the couch. Steve was sitting at the table with Thor, but they both stopped talking when Loki headed into the kitchen.

Loki ignored them all. He grabbed the small Midgardian eggs out of the fridge and the cheese that was shredded for convenience. He paused and grabbed the bag that said 'ham' on it. It was a tiny pig, Loki assumed, to have such small quarters to be sliced up that way. He rummaged around the cabinets until he found a bowl and a fork.

The conversation started back up behind him and Loki felt somewhat relieved that the tension was gone. He normally wouldn't care, but his nerves were slightly frazzled. If Natasha had stuck around this morning he would have cleared his mind with a vigorous bout of sex but she had disappeared.

His nightmare was weird to him. The sky was red from the sunset and the city around him was in crumbles. Not a strange sight to him seeing as he had been in numerous battles before. Loki poured the scrambled up eggs into a pan. He frowned as he watched them bubble. He tossed the cheese in and tore up the 'ham' so that it would fit in the omelet; a delicacy he had seen on the 'food' channel.

Dead eyes.

Loki sighed. Every time he closed his eyes he would see dead eyes staring back at him. It would be fine if it was Fury's or Barton's but for some reason it was bothering him to see Stark's eyes staring at him. He assumed the blank stare bothered him more than the others because he could always see calculating and intelligence in those eyes. The only thing worse was Natasha's blue eyes forever closed as she lay in a jumbled mess on the ground. Pieces of Thor were scattered over the bodies and Hulk's howls of rage could be heard. And then they weren't. A horrible silence in which Loki knew the beast was no more.

But that wasn't the fate for Loki. Loki's nightmare had quickly changed to him fleeing in desperation. He would not be so lucky to be killed. He would be pulled apart piece by piece and put together again. His life would extend to the full 5,000 years and it would be full of pain and torture.

"Loki?" Thor placed a hand on Loki's shoulder.

Loki turned his head to show he was listening. His eyes stared at the omelet, but his mind still strayed onto his nightmare.

"Are you alright, brother?" Thor asked. He nodded at Loki's left hand.

Loki followed his gaze and saw that his hand had crushed the edge of the counter. He sighed and pulled his hand away. He shrugged to answer Thor's question and finished making his omelet.

"Rough morning?" Steve tried when the god of mischief sat down next to him and Thor.

"Couldn't sleep," Loki replied.

Thor looked up and rose an eyebrow. Loki only couldn't sleep when he was having bad dreams.

"I'm having the same problem." Steve smiled. "I've tried those energy drink things and boy!"

Both Loki and Thor looked at him in absolute confusion.

"Give either one of them an energy drink and I will shoot you," Natasha groused as she made her way to the kitchen. She didn't dare look at the god of mischief. Her nerves were already on edge and working out had not helped.

"Is it like the coffee?" Thor asked.

Natasha frowned and busied herself with making her own cup.

"Natasha is not exactly a morning person," Steve warned.

"I've dealt with Loki for a thousand years, I think I will be fine." Thor grinned. "Though you should see him when he's imbibed way too much…." Thor's eyes lit up suddenly. "Brother I have an idea!"

Loki stopped mid-bite, "That's frightening."

"Remember the battle of the Sryeja?" Thor grinned.

"How could I forget, you made a twenty foot spider explode on us," Loki shivered.

Thor waved it off like it was nothing, "I'm talking about the night before."

"When you taunted the Sryeja to 'go ahead and send the beasts'?" Loki frowned.

"Forget the spiders," Thor grinned. "The day before!"

Loki pondered for a moment and then his face broke out into a mischievous grin. "I assume you have a plan."

"A plan for what?" Natasha frowned.

Both gods looked at her with innocence, "nothing."

* * *

Steve stared at the screen. He could feel his skin crawl as he watched the god tear the monster apart by just jerking his hands. He sighed and moved the video back to when the creatures had first come in.

As frightening as Loki's magical ability was, it was also unnerving how strong the god was too. When Steve had fought him before, he was able to knock him off his feet. But now he was wondering what would have happened if they hadn't been interrupted. What if Loki hadn't wanted to be captured?

Steve tilted his head and leaned in toward the large screen. He turned the sound all the way up and could hear the roar of the battle outside. Underneath the many sounds he heard Loki's strange chant. He also noted that his hands continued to be placed on the creature's skull.

"So, he has to do some hocus pocus first," Steve said to himself. He frowned and rewound the video some more. He watched as Thor told Loki to perform the spell.

Loki had saved them. He had done it without making his presence known which would give them a great advantage in the upcoming battle. But this isn't the way that Steve wanted to win the war. This wasn't right.

* * *

Bruce reached for his water while watching the TV. Not the most practical use of the lab, but it suited his purpose of getting the hell out of everyone's way. Minus Tony. Tony was fiddling with his Iron Man suit behind him but he was being quiet. A rarity for him.

Every time he went to the upper levels, Bruce would hear about Loki and that horrific spell he performed. If Thor was present then there would be a loud argument. Jane was also on Loki's side. Natasha, Darcy and Steve seemed to be staying out of the conversation for the most part.

Bruce was actually on Loki's side, though he wasn't broadcasting it. He wondered what was different from unleashing the beast compared to what Loki did. They were saved, and Loki had a lot more control over it. Bruce sighed. Loki had actually prevented him from turning into the beast.

An alarm blared next to him.

Bruce jerked up and looked down at his tablet which was the source of the alarm. The alarm to let them know that an extremely large amount of magic was being used.

"Where's it coming from?" Tony had his screwdriver in his grips as if it could protect him.

"In the tower," Bruce frowned. "I think Thor's room."

Tony's eyes widened, "He's actually going to kill Thor."

* * *

Tony pounded on Thor's door and waited. After several moments he pounded again.

Bruce tried the handle and pushed the door open.

Tony opened his mouth to make a remark but it died in his throat. Inside the room was a place he had never seen before. It looked like the outdoor tropics. Complete with several trees, birds flying on the horizon and a hot springs in the middle of the floor.

Thor waved from the hot springs while Loki, who had his back to them, tilted his head back and grinned.

"How in the hell?" Tony managed. He raised a brow as he realized there were extremely sexy women walking around in almost nothing.

"Um," Bruce turned to where the door had shut. "The door's gone."

"Join us!" Thor grinned.

"What?—You know what, I don't care." Tony began pulling off his clothes.

"You made a hot springs in the room?" Bruce eyed Loki.

"It's tradition to enjoy oneself the eve before battle," Thor told them.

"But seeing as we can't pin point when that is, especially after that Chitauri attack-" Loki shrugged. "We're celebrating now."

"Are you two naked?' Bruce blinked.

"Interested?" Loki grinned.

"This is how Asgardians swim," Thor frowned. "I still don't understand why Midgardians feel they must cover themselves at all times."

"They are ashamed," Loki smirked.

"Nope," Tony tossed his boxers across the room and they landed on a tree. He splashed in and sat down with a loud "ahhhhhhh."

"Maybe we should head back to the lab?" Bruce pointed to where the door was.

"And do what? Watch more Judge Judy?" Tony leaned back in the warmth of the water.

Bruce frowned.

"Join us!" Thor grinned. "It is a celebration for all."

"Except Fury," Loki muttered.

"Brother requests that Fury not be here," Thor shrugged. "But there is much! We have roasted pig, ale, and finer drinks." He held up a cup.

"Can I try?" Tony glanced at the drink.

"Drink it slow, I believe it might be much for you," Thor told him as he handed it over.

Bruce slipped into the hot springs in his boxers and gave a smile as he saw Tony's face twist as he took a giant swig. Both of the gods laughed.

"So giant party?" Tony licked his lips. "Just for the hell of it?"

"It's a way of storing good memories of friends and family," Bruce stated. "In case they are lost in battle the next day."

"That wasn't depressing at all," Loki snorted.

A rather large breasted brunette leaned over to offer Tony a drink.

"Loki, I like the way you think." Tony grinned at the woman and took the drink.

"They are just illusions," Loki stated. "But if you wish for more I can make an inanimate object change shape and become animate."

Tony blinked, "I am almost 100% sure that Pepper would still count that as cheating."

"Have you done that?" Bruce eyed the god.

Loki shook his head, "I like the challenge of laying with someone." He eyed the man and smirked.

Tony chuckled and Thor smiled and shook his head. He was aware of many of his brother's shenanigans.

"It would not be in your favor to get him angry," Thor grinned.

"But angry sex is the greatest invention," Loki sighed. "But I'd rather not be on the receiving end of the beast."

Tony snorted into his drink.

"Unless you want to, then I'd stop." Bruce grumbled. He took the drink from the brunette that walked by.

"Is it bothering you so much?" Loki smirked.

Bruce frowned, "Sex makes your blood pressure rise."

Tony winced as he realized what Bruce was getting at, but the two gods stared at him in confusion.

"If my blood pressure goes up I become the Hulk," Bruce further explained.

Loki blinked.

"So you haven't..." Thor frowned.

"Nope," Bruce sighed. "I tried but it almost ended badly…"

Loki blinked again.

"I think you broke Loki," Tony pointed at the god.

"You can't lay with a woman?" Loki blinked.

"I can't lay with my hand," Bruce took a large gulp of the drink.

Loki turned to Thor, "We have to fix this."

"Brother-"

"There's got to be a spell or something," Loki eyed the man. "This is torture."

Tony snorted.

"Drink this!" Loki handed Bruce a much stronger drink. "We can get you to drink enough that you have low blood pressure, but enough to lay with someone."

"I'm not laying with you," Bruce eyed him.

"I don't care who you lay with, just lay with someone." Loki seemed actually quite concerned.

"I do think that Loki is actually quite upset by your predicament," Tony grinned and took a drink.

* * *

Steve knocked on Loki's door and waited patiently for him to answer. After a few moments he knocked again.

"What you up to?" Natasha headed for the tall blond. She had just been looking for him so that they could go sparring again.

"Trying to find Loki," he tried the handle and found the room to be open. "Loki?" He entered the room and took a look around. The room itself was mostly bare. It was clean and tidy with only a book on the nightstand to even hint that someone spent their time in there. Steve picked up the book and noted it was of creatures of the Earth. He sighed and tossed the book down; the god wasn't here.

"Why are you looking for him?" Natasha glanced at the bed. She tried not to think about how they had spent the night before. She furrowed her brow as a thought struck her.

"I just want to talk," Steve frowned.

Natasha shrugged as they exited the room, "Stark is able to track magic-maybe he can find him."

Steve nodded and started for the elevator. He paused outside of Thor's room. He sighed and knocked on the door. Maybe the elder god might be able to track his brother down quicker.

"Go away! I'm busy looking at my muscles," Thor's voice sounded. It was immediately followed by lots of laughter.

Natasha and Steve looked at each other and opened the door.

Inside Thor was attempting to drown someone in a hot springs while Tony and Bruce clutched their sides in laughter. The hot springs in question was somehow in the middle of the outdoor tropics. Thor let go and Loki popped out of the water laughing his ass off.

"I do not say that!" Thor crossed his arms.

Tony snorted and grabbed another drink off of a brunette's tray. "Ooh can they party too?" he pointed his drink at the agents.

"The more the merrier!" Thor grinned and grabbed another drink.

"I think I might be sick," Bruce sank into the water slightly.

Loki frowned and pulled the drink from him, "perhaps that was a bit too much."

"What are you doing?" Natasha blinked at the scene. Steve looked back to where the door had shut and found that there was no longer a door but instead a beach.

"Trying to help Bruce lay with a woman," Loki stated.

Tony shook his head, "At this point he'd have whiskey dick."

"What is 'whiskey dick'?" Thor questioned.

Natasha walked up to the hot springs, "you drink too much and can't get it up."

Loki and Thor smirked and said something in Norse and chuckled.

"So, why with the tropics?" Steve asked as he crossed his arms.

"We are having a celebration!" Thor grinned. "Join us!"

Tony grinned, "If Captain Spangles is wearing American flag boxers, I will die."

"I am not." Steve ground out.

"Because the agent has stolen them," Loki grinned.

Bruce choked on his drink and Natasha couldn't help but smile.

"Join us!" Thor stated again at the agents.

Natasha shrugged and began pulling off her clothes. Steve sighed and followed suit.

"See, no flags." Steve gestured to his solid blue undergarments. Natasha shook her head and slipped into the hot springs in the space between Tony and Bruce.

"Where's the sexy men?" Natasha raised a brow at Loki. Loki flicked his hand and several buff men began walking around as well. "Much better."

"Really Nat?" Steve scooted in beside her.

"What is that," Loki leaned over Bruce to look at Natasha's bra. It was neon pink with black lace covering it.

"Ok, I feel much more than I need to in this position," Bruce blinked in surprise. He pushed on Loki to get the god off of him to no avail.

"Women in Midgard have interesting undergarments," Thor grinned. "Jane has special garments called….laun….laudrei?"

"Lingerie," Natasha grinned. She swatted Loki's hand away from the lace on her bra.

"You're no fun," Loki sat back down in his spot much to Bruce's relief.

Natasha grinned, "I'll let you feel the bra-" She paused as she got Loki's full attention. "If you tell me what you're so scared of."

"I am not scared of anything," Loki crossed his arms. He glared at Thor who snorted into his drink. "Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Why don't you want me to know? You didn't even flinch when Thor threatened to tell Fury," Natasha told him.

"What are we talking about?" Steve looked around.

"Thor made Loki stop attacking during some sparring session by threatening to tell Natasha his biggest fear,' Bruce said sleepily.

"Men tend to use fears against each other when needed. Women tend to use fears against others for sport." Loki shrugged. "I am no longer afraid, but I don't really feel like dealing with others trying to scare me."

Thor leaned forward and pulled Natasha to him to whisper in her ear, "Brother will think I am telling you his fear." He pulled back and grinned.

Natasha laughed as she realized that Thor was attempting to pull a trick on Loki. She turned to Loki who was now eyeing the two of them. "I'll have to remember that."

"It's nothing but a childish fear I have outgrown," Loki shrugged.

"No. That would be your fear of thunder," Thor grinned.

Loki glared at him. "What about your fear of water?"

"I nearly drowned!" Thor waved his hand dismissively.

Steve blinked. "You were afraid of thunder. How does that work out?"

"Father," Loki rolled his eyes. "Would have some control of thunder when he got really upset. This was before Thor took over it. And when father got upset, he wasn't good at controlling it…."

Thor winced as he thought about the old storms.

"This was back when we were extremely small children," Loki pointed out. "We weren't more than…15?"

Thor nodded. "We were extremely small. Mother still wouldn't let us past the big gates at this point."

"Wait, 15?" Steve asked.

"About this tall," Thor used his arms to show the height of a toddler. He was getting used to explaining ages to Darcy and Jane this way.

"Careful with that," Loki pointed to the drink that Steve was drinking quickly. "It is much stronger than your drinks and I don't fancy telling Fury why his golden boy drowned."  
"I can't get drunk," Steve told them.

Loki raised a brow, "I'll take that as a challenge."

* * *

Jane sighed as she exited the elevator. She and Darcy had been out with Selvig eating lunch at one of the open restaurants quite a ways away. What she wanted to do now was curl up with her books.

"So research mode?" Darcy questioned.

Jane nodded as she opened the door. They both immediately stopped dead.

"Jane!" Thor held up his drink in greeting from what appeared to be a hot spring. Next to him Tony raised his drink that was just handed to him by a large breasted woman. Next to him was Steve who had his arm behind Natasha. Bruce was nearly passed out between Natasha and Loki who was smirking at his brother to his right.

"What in the hell?" Jane took several steps inside and Darcy followed her.

"Oh this is way better than research," Darcy grinned at the scene before them.

"Where is my stuff?" Jane looked around frantically. She noted even the door was gone now.

"Put away," Loki answered. "This is merely an illusion…for the most part."

"The hot tub is good to go?" Darcy grinned to which Loki nodded.

"We need my books." Jane frowned.

"Dude," Darcy waved her hands at the tub. "There is literally a superhero soup in front of us and you want to do research?"

"We are about to be attacked!" Jane explained.

"I'm not a superhero," Loki waved his hand at her.

Darcy grinned, "Nope, you are the spice that gives it a kick."

Loki smirked and took another drink.

"We are celebrating friends," Thor explained. "A joyous occasion before battle."

Jane blinked, "oh, so when friends are lost-"

Thor held up a hand to stop the explanation again, "Join us."

"There's not enough room," Jane grumbled.

"Yes there is," Loki stated and put his drink on the edge of the springs.

Darcy grinned, expecting to see Loki's magic make the hot springs bigger.

Loki grabbed Bruce and tossed his body over his shoulder, "you all will blame me if he drowns anyway." Loki stood and stepped out of the hot springs. A mat appeared close by and Loki laid him down. He made his way back over to the hot tub where Jane and Darcy had slipped into his previous spot.

"Scoot," Loki slid between Darcy and Natasha.

"Really?" Natasha scooted and made Steve scoot too. Darcy didn't seem to have a problem with the situation.

"I think this just got a bit cozy," Steve put both arms out to prevent from touching Tony.

"How the hell did I end up with only guys next to me?" Tony complained.

"Are you naked?" Steve questioned.

"What is that?" Loki stared at Jane's bra which was a frilly pink push up.

Thor put his arm around Jane protectively and glared at Loki. Loki glanced to Darcy and was surprised to see a black bra with neon colored stars all over it.

"Why would one wear this?" Loki poked the bra.

"Hey, I am not above tazing you," Darcy told him.

Loki raised an eyebrow.

"A jolt of electricity," Natasha told him.

Loki rolled his eyes, "because that's never happened to me before." Loki glanced back to Natasha and looked between the bras. He ran his fingers over the fabric of Natasha's which made her swat his hand away again. He immediately turned to try the fabric of Darcy's.

"Do you guys not have bras in Asgard?" Tony asked.

"We have undergarments but they are not so colorful," Thor told him.

"So, Thor was like this with you at first?" Darcy scooted closer to Jane.

"Uhh," Jane turned slightly red.

Loki frowned, "is the other undergarment the same color?"

"Here," Loki heard Natasha's voice as a hand thrust a black and pink bra in front of his face. He turned to see that she held her breasts with her other arm. He grabbed the bra and immediately began inspecting it.

Natasha smirked and sunk in the water a bit. "How to keep an Asgardian male busy…"

"Hand him female underwear." Jane finished and grinned.

"I'm pretty sure that keeps any guy busy," Darcy stated. She watched in amusement as Loki played with the clasp.

"I prefer what's in the underwear," Tony stated.

Natasha grinned as Tony began describing a previous conquest. She let her mind drift back to what she had been thinking earlier in Loki's room. Loki had been holding her in a 'cuddling' position so that he could heal her smoothly. They must have fallen asleep in their exhaustion because she couldn't remember moving from that position. More than likely they had tipped over and ended up 'cuddling' due to their previous position. Loki had held her intimately because he was healing her. No love. No cuddling.

She glanced at Loki who was pulling at the lace in the bra and shook her head. She had felt so much relief when she realized that he wasn't getting attached. She wasn't ready for this to end.

"What is the weirdest place you have ever had sex?" Tony asked Steve.

"Not exactly appropriate," Steve cheeks turned slightly red.

"On a frozen lake," Natasha piped up.

"In the slide at a playground," Darcy grinned and looked to Jane.

Jane sighed, "The top bunk in my boyfriend's dorm room."

"That's not weird," Darcy scoffed. Thor's face begged to differ.

"His two friends were on the bottom bunk," Jane turned red.

Tony looked to Thor who shook his head.

"Well, I was halfway in my console," Tony stated. He nodded to Thor again.

"I laid with a woman in a cave full of diamonds," Thor shrugged. "But it matters not because Loki wins."

Tony furrowed his brow and they all looked to Loki who was grinning.

"On a rainbow," Loki smirked.

"How do you have sex on a rainbow," Darcy shook her head at the idea of it.

"Magic," Loki smirked again and wriggled his eyebrows.

"It is his boots," Thor stated. "He can walk on anything-OW!" He glared at Loki who had just kicked him.

"Ok, what is the most bad ass thing you have ever done?" Tony tried again. "I had women dancing for me to ACDC as America's greatest peace keeper."

"I took out 12 men with one shot of my shield," Steve grinned. "They all hit the ground at the same time."

"When I figured out how to help take down those elf guys," Jane grinned.

Natasha smiled, "I drove a motorcycle into a plane taking off and took out all the guys in it. And then landed the plane perfectly."

"I tazed a god," Darcy grinned. Thor chuckled.

"I was able to take down this rock creature with one blow. It made the rest of the rioters stop immediately." Thor grinned.

Loki frowned, "I think it's when I helped Thor with his powers. He had created a giant storm and we combined our talents and were able to create a fire tornado and fireballs falling from the sky."

"That is awesome," Darcy blinked.

"It is. I change mine," Thor stated.

"You can't change," Loki shook his head.

"I can," Thor argued.

"What's the kinkiest thing you have ever done?" Darcy tried.

"Kinkiest?" Thor, Loki and Steve asked.

"You all need to get out more," Natasha downed her drink.

"What's kinkiest?" Loki turned to her.

"What's the most interesting thing you have ever done during sex or sex related stuff?" Natasha elaborated.

"I think I need a few more drinks before answering something like that," Steve grabbed a drink, though he was tilting a bit to the side already.

"Have you even gotten any since you defrosted?" Tony smirked.

"Lay off," Natasha kicked at Tony.

"Like," Darcy began, "have you ever done a rim job, foot stuff, whips, chains, strap on, angry sex or dressed up?"

"I'm not sure what all of that is," Thor stated. "But I'm sure that Loki's done it." Everyone laughed.

"What's a rim job?" Loki raised a brow. Natasha leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "…yes…foot stuff?...yes….whips-what I think it is?...yes….Strap on?..."

Loki twisted his mouth as he thought about that one. "….no….." Natasha sat back in her seat in surprise.

"The world is ending now. Loki hasn't done something sexual." Tony snorted.

"I turned into a woman and was with a man," Loki shrugged. "Does that count?"

"…..I….honestly don't know," Tony blinked. Natasha snorted into her hand.

"Would you like to see?" Loki grinned wickedly. "My female form is something to behold."

"Angry sex?" Thor questioned, trying to change the topic. "Why would someone be so angry during something so fun?"

"How are you with him?" Loki looked at Jane.

"I don't like angry sex," Jane frowned.

"What's the best angry sex you've had?" Darcy grinned as a sexy man handed her another drink.

Loki frowned as he thought. "Emotionally, it was when Amora grabbed me by the ear and started an argument. That was just anger."

"Why do it?" Steve questioned.

"To prove a point; to show I was better than her." Loki shrugged.

"So no lashing out?" Tony asked.

Loki chuckled, "the best physical angry sex I had…" he paused as he thought about it. "She came into my room and pushed me until I pinned her to the wall. I nearly broke her nose and she busted my lip. By the end of it we were covered in blood and bruises."

Natasha didn't allow the smirk to slip onto her face. She felt pride well up in her to know that she was the best in his mind. The Asgardian had been at it for a millennia after all.

"I once accidentally choked a guy so hard he passed out," Natasha stated.

"I believe it," Tony giggled.

"I think Tony's a bit drunk," Natasha grinned. To be honest she was feeling a bit warm herself.

Steve finished downing his drink, he wobbled and then laughed. "I think this Asgardian stuff might actually-might get me the drunk." He paused as he tried to discern what he just said.

"Who all is drunk?" Natasha grinned. Everyone but Darcy and Jane raised their hands.

"They need more drinks," Loki chuckled. He leaned against Natasha and tried to peak at her breasts.

"Darcy may Taser you, but I'll shoot you," Natasha warned him.

"Want to have sex?" Loki grinned.

"Aaaannnd no more alcohol for you," Natasha pulled his drink away while everyone laughed.

Thor snuggled up to Jane, "this was a great idea."

"You don't have many ideas," Loki grinned. "But when you do-" He held up a new drink that appeared out of nowhere. Natasha shook her head wondering why she bothered to take his first drink away.

"To family and friends!" Thor held up his own drink. "May your battles be great and your lives long and merry."

Everyone held up their drink.

Loki grinned to Thor. For the first time in a long time it felt like how it used to be. They felt like brothers on the eve of a great battle that they knew they would win.

Knocking sounded. "Thor?" Fury's voice sounded.

"Don't you dare!" Thor pointed at Loki.

Loki feigned innocence.

"I am busy," Thor answered loudly to the door.

"We didn't lock that," Jane muttered.

An opening door suddenly appeared. Both Director Fury and Selvig stared at them in surprise as the door opened completely.

"What in the hell?" Fury looked around the room. His eyes fell onto Loki. "Another one of your tricks?"

Loki shrugged. He was feeling rather warm and fuzzy at the moment and couldn't care what Fury thought of him.

Darcy giggled into her alcohol, "Someone is _Furi-ous!" _

Fury glared at the laughing drunken group. "What if the Chitauri attacked?"

Loki morphed into Fury with a pink afro, "What in the mother fucking hell if the Chitauri attacked?"

Natasha snorted into her drink. Steve held his face attempting not to laugh as the fake Fury mimicked the crazy eye that the real Fury was sending his way.

"I think the celebration is over," Thor held back a grin as Loki taunted Fury.

**Okay, so hopefully that was semi-worth the wait. I am typing on my old laptop, which likes to turn off if I jostle it too much, but hopefully I will have the next chapter up by next weekend. I'm off to the fair tomorrow so YAY! Sorry, I am so amped up that I FINALLY got to post this damn thing! Love all you guys! **


	23. Promises Made

**Yay! I posted before a whole month went by again. LovesDragons needs to PM me because I am willing to give a sneak peak on next chapter because that was the ONLY review that I got. I am going to start writing the next chapter tonight and hopefully have it up in a few days. God I hope so anyway!**

Natasha whimpered at the feathery touches all over her body. It was mesmerizing. She knew that people were watching but all she cared about was that his hands were on her: touching her. The heat of the hot springs made her buck up against Loki. The god nibbled on her sensitive neck while fingering her. Neither of them cared that all the Avengers were in the hot springs behind them.

Natasha's eyes shot open in her pitch black room. Her hand immediately shot out in an open palm at the intruder, fully intending to break the intruder's nose. She felt the nose smash and then hands gripped her wrists and pushed her down.

"Why is it always my nose with you?" Loki growled. She could feel liquid drip onto her cheek.

"What are you doing?" She growled. If she wasn't so angry about being caught off guard, she would actually feel pretty smug about giving the god a bloody nose.

"I want what was promised to me," Loki leaned down and his teeth grazed her neck.

Natasha tried to retain her anger, but the action brought back her need that she had felt just a minute before in her dream. She wriggled against him and noticed that he was smart enough not to let her wrists go. "You're getting blood on me," she said through gritted teeth.

Loki pulled back, Natasha's eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she could see the dark outline of his nose bleeding freely. He didn't seem to be bothered by it though. He let go of her right wrist and wiped the blood off of his face. Natasha immediately tried to pull up but Loki gripped her wrist again, pushing her down into her sheets. His mouth found her neck again and sucked.

"LOKI!" Natasha struggled. "…..no…." her last word came out more breathy than she would have preferred.

Loki smirked against her neck, "Loki, yes!" His body was now between Natasha's legs and she wondered when the hell that had happened.

"..s-stop…" Natasha moaned against his touch.

Loki chuckled against her neck, "if you truly wanted me to stop, I would have." His hand snaked under her shirt and found her breast. His fingers rolled her nipple lightly. "You want this. And you started something last night that I intend to finish."

Natasha, realizing her wrists were free, pulled her shirt over her head. Loki smirked and pushed himself down to her panties. Natasha spread her legs for him and he quickly pulled the lacy garments off. It was a brilliant purple, not the same ones she was wearing earlier. Loki found himself wondering how many of those interesting garments this woman owned.

Natasha's legs wrapped around Loki's head and Loki buried his face into her core. Natasha threw her head back and moaned as Loki's tongue went to work on her clit. His fingers entered her and twirled. Natasha bit her lip and her hips bucked forward. There was a reason that Loki was called Silver Tongue and she was starting to think it had nothing to do with talking.

An orgasm ripped through Natasha and she buried her face into a pillow to keep from screaming. Loki pulled back and grabbed the pillow. He quickly tossed it across the room. If he was the cause of screaming, he wanted to hear it.

Loki lapped at her juices and dipped his fingers inside of her again. His fingers were covered with her essence which made him smirk. He slid the wet fingers down to her ass and slowly pushed one inside. Natasha wriggled at the intrusion. He twirled his tongue inside of her to make her stop struggling. Natasha's hand tangled into his dark locks and pushed him down. Loki smirked and followed her direction. His finger began to push in and out of her ass.

Natasha stared at the ceiling with hooded eyes. Loki was pushing his tongue deep inside of her while his finger toyed with her ass. Natasha moaned and held his face down into her core. Her other hand moved to its usual spot at her breast. She kneaded it and ran her own fingers over her nipple. It was puckered and she pinched it. She gasped as Loki entered a second finger inside of her.

Natasha wriggled from the unusual pressure. It wasn't like she hadn't done this before, but each time it felt weird and unnatural to her. Loki bit down on her nether lip and she jerked her hips. An orgasm hit her hard from the sudden delicious pain.

Loki pulled back for a second and licked his lips, "I should do that more often."

"Shut up and eat it," Natasha threw her head back. Her legs spread wider for him. She even pushed against his fingers that were still deep in her ass.

Loki eyed her and then smirked. He ran his tongue along her slit and pulled his fingers out of her ass. He took three of his fingers and shoved them deep inside her wetness. He twirled and twisted them to make sure they were covered with her wetness. Loki gripped her leg and shoved those same three fingers inside her ass. Natasha whimpered at the harsh intrusion.

Loki thrust his fingers outward, stretching her as much as he could. His tongue flitted over her clit lightly; almost torturously. Natasha shook her head. Not almost-it was torture: sweet, sweet torture that had her body aching for him.

He took pity on her, or so she assumed, as he pulled away and crawled on top of her. Loki was hard and ready for her. He rubbed the tip of his cock at her opening and Natasha moaned. He grabbed her hips and pushed into her slowly.

"Fuck me," Natasha growled. She jerked her hips against him. She was tired of this game. She needed him and she needed him NOW.

Loki tilted his head and then slammed into her. He could assume what that word meant.

Natasha screamed that delicious scream he loved. His hands gripped her hips tightly as he thrust against her brutally. Natasha gripped the sheets. She would have bruises in the morning and she didn't care.

Loki pulled all the way out and nudged her other opening. He was slick with her juices and he spread her cheeks apart to prepare her.

"Loki," Natasha shook her head.

Loki pushed against her harder, she was now tensed up and it was making his task a bit harder now. "I healed you," he reminded her.

"You'll rip me apart," Natasha frowned. She wasn't too keen on letting many people into that opening. Especially if they didn't have any lube to help it.

"Sounds fun, " Loki smirked. He ducked his head from her well placed kick. Natasha pushed herself out of his embrace and off the bed. She headed straight for her dresser drawer and opened it.

Loki calmly watched her.

Natasha pulled out a tiny bottle of liquid from a dark bag and turned to look at Loki. She was somewhat surprised that he was so calm. Though she had been pretty sure that if she struggled enough that he would stop. He enjoyed the game too much to actually physically force himself on her. She held the bottle out for him to see, "This is lube."

Loki tilted his head in confusion at the bottle only a quarter full.

"It is used to…lubricate and allow for-"

"I understand what lubrication is," Loki rolled his eyes. "Why is it almost empty? I thought you didn't like this particular way."

Natasha blinked and looked down at the bottle and then frowned. "It can be used to make things easier for the normal way too. Get it going."

Loki furrowed his brow in absolute confusion, "_you_ don't need anything to help-unless you had a complete moron trying to figure you out."

Natasha chucked the bottle at Loki who caught it easily. He smirked at her as she crawled on top of him. She tried not to think about how she and Clint used that bottle almost regularly.

"We do it my way," Natasha stated. She grabbed the bottle back from Loki and poured some of the liquid onto his hardness. He hissed at the cool liquid but it turned into a moan as Natasha rubbed it over his length.

She gripped his cock. Holding it, she lowered herself onto the god. It hurt. There was no getting around that. Loki was big, and she was not used to this. She gasped in pain as she slid down his length. When she finally had him fully sheathed, she stayed still. Natasha felt so full with him and she could feel him twitching deep inside her. Her eyes opened and she saw that Loki had tossed his head back and was biting his bottom lip.

Natasha swallowed against the lump in her throat and rotated her hips. Now that she was stretched all the way, it didn't feel so bad to move. Loki gasped at the friction she created. Natasha gripped his chest and began to move her hips. She felt so very full but empty at the same time. Her core was pulsating with need.

Loki gritted his teeth to the sensation of the beautiful woman on top of him. He stared at the fiery red head and could see her bottom lip quivering. He reached down to where they connected and rubbed his fingers over that sensitive bud. Natasha gasped and he could feel her wetness rubbing against him. She thrust harder as he rubbed against her clit.

The noises spilling out of her mouth was making it hard for him to keep his mind straight. She was mewling and whimpering as she spilled her juices on him. He gripped her legs and pulled them even further apart and then replaced his hand. Natasha moaned loudly, rubbing up against Loki's hand. He pulled his hand away, and before Natasha could complain, he pulled himself up and kissed her deeply. Natasha moaned against his mouth. She thrust her hips forward, her clit rubbing against his bare skin.

"I'm going to…." Natasha tossed her head back. Loki immediately attacked her neck. Nails dug into his back.

Loki breathed raggedly. Natasha's ass was clenching on him hard and he could feel Natasha's release spilling onto him. It was enough to toss him over the edge, but he was clinging desperately. He wanted to make this last; wanted to feel her whole orgasm roll over him. His nails dug into her ass as he gripped her tightly. He felt more than heard her scream out her orgasm. Her nails were in his hair; clawing and pulling as she fell mercilessly over the edge.

Natasha's mouth was covered with Loki's. It was a deep demanding kiss that ended with him moaning and gasping against her mouth as heat filled her deep inside. She gripped him tightly. The heat was so intense inside of her. She could feel it spilling out and seeping between them. The liquid heat against her clit made her tremble.

It seemed like hours before she untangled herself from the god. A good portion of her didn't even want to. She sprawled out on the bed next to him as she stared at the spinning ceiling. They didn't speak for a long time.

* * *

"Tasha?" Loki blinked at the ceiling.

Natasha turned her head to look at him. She thought he had fallen asleep some time ago. "Hmm?"

"You're…lube..made me sticky," he rubbed his fingers together in dismay.

"You didn't mind it earlier," Natasha smirked. She pulled herself up and immediately groaned at the pain.

"No, I did not." Loki smirked. He pulled himself off the bed and immediately stumbled. Natasha laughed which made the god growl.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Natasha grinned. She nearly squeaked when Loki picked her up off the bed. She mentally thanked god that she hadn't because she knew Loki would never let her live it down. He set her down in the shower and she started it up. It was hot and steamy like she liked it.

She grabbed the bar of soap that Tony left in every bathroom instead of her normal body wash. It would be hard to explain why Loki smelled like her. She rubbed the bar over his body. She had to stand on tip toe to reach part of him and she realized that he really was tall. Everyone was tall to her, but Loki was over 6 feet.

He started to kiss her again. Hot water washed over them as she ran the bar of soap lower and he pulled her close. Her body was still strumming from their last encounter but she felt excitement again. One of Loki's hands rubbed against her sore ass.

"Need to clean you up," he smirked against her lips.

Natasha rubbed the bar of soap against his semi-erect member. She placed the bar on the shower rack and stroked him. "Got to get the sticky stuff off," Natasha grinned. She stroked him as the suds went away.

Loki rubbed against her back opening. She dropped down to her knees and took Loki's, now clean, cock into her mouth.

Loki gripped the top of the shower. The Midgardian's washrooms looked nice and clean but they were not very practical for having sex. The floor and walls are slick, something Loki wished he didn't have to concentrate on. His foot struck an extra slick spot and he grabbed the wall, creating a large dent where his hand had grabbed.

"Maybe we should stop," Natasha licked her lips as she stood.

Loki eyed her teeth and decided that might be a good idea, except now she got him in the need. He grabbed her arm and pushed her up against the cold shower wall. He grabbed her hips and pushed her upward and then thrust into her core.

Natasha's fingers raked across the slick wall. Her breasts pressed against the coldness in such an erotic way. She moaned against the wall as Loki continued to pound into her. She had absolutely no control in this position. And it made her body that much more sensitive.

Loki had intended for a quick bout of sex, but Natasha's walls clenching on him made him go over the edge even quicker than he preferred. Her walls clenched yet again when he released his seed deep inside of her.

* * *

Natasha tossed a towel at the tall god and patted herself dry with her own. He smirked at her: she was covered in bruises of his handprints and other marks of their sex. Her neck had a large dark mark from where he sucked on it.

"I think I need a nap," Natasha groaned with a smile on her face.

"Nope," Loki shook his head. "We still have one more hole to fill."

Natasha tilted her head and then threw the towel at his head as she understood what he meant. He just laughed as she stomped into her room.

He followed her and saw her rummaging in a drawer. She pulled out a black bra and Loki quickly made his way over. The drawer was amazing. The garments ranged from many different sizes. Some of the 'panties' looked square, while others only had a tiny slip of material in the back. There was a bra that was completely see-through.

"You are such a kid," Natasha laughed. She fell back into the bed, giving up on putting more undergarments on. Loki would just play with them anyway. She paused and then got back up and headed to the closet.

"Can you wear these next time?" Loki held up green and black bra with a tiny green thong.

Natasha looked back and shrugged, "maybe." She pulled out the large fur blanket she had taken from Loki's room. She paused and grinned. "I will wear it tomorrow if you tell me the story behind this."

Loki frowned, "how do you know I won't lie."

"I don't," she tossed the blanket at the god.

Loki looked down at it and then made his way to Natasha's bed. She didn't object to him settling in for the night and tossing the blanket over the both of them.

"Freya, my mother, loved the Gib cats." Loki began. "Even had a few pull a carriage for her for a while. When Odin first married her, he would take her to this hilltop where the Gib cats roamed and they would eat their lunches there."

Natasha fiddled with the blanket as he talked.

"One day a feral Gib cat attacked my mother and my father slayed the beast with his bare hands. Odin is a proud….individual…" Loki sighed and rolled his eyes. "So he turned it into this blanket for my mother."

Natasha looked down at it then. She frowned and wondered how well that went over.

"She hated it," Loki stated. "Even though it attacked her, she found the Gib cats beautiful and didn't really want the fur. It used to hang in the reading room as decoration for the longest time." Loki paused and weighed his next words. He was deciding whether or not to lie. "When it was cold out and the fireplace didn't do enough…I would still want to stay up and learn magic with Mother; reading it out of her books. So she would get the blanket off the wall, wrap us in it and we would read until our eyes wouldn't stay open. "

"That sounds nice," Natasha smiled. She could picture a tiny Loki wrapped up in blanket with a giant book in front of him.

"Father moved the blanket into his room when mother passed," Loki stated. "It must have been within easy reach after…" Loki paused. He had almost told her what had happened.

"The Chitauri attack," Natasha finished.

Loki nodded.

"We weren't allowed to keep things," Natasha told him. "If the program thought we were becoming too attached to things or a person-they took them away."

Loki furrowed his brow. He was always second best to his father, but he was able to keep his favorite books. His treasures he would find when he was on his own: a tiny shard of a jewel he found when diving, a marble toy of a dragon, and his absolute favorite book about magic.

"Do you keep anything now?" Loki asked.

"I'm usually on the go," Natasha shrugged. "I don't have anywhere to put it."

Loki shrugged as well but he started wondering if he had an extra bag of holding for her.

**I am soooo excited about next chapter! Please review!**


	24. Mischief

**Well, I got it out sooner than normal-so yay me! Hope you guys like. Seriously reviews are like a drug and it makes me uber happy just to get a one liner. No joke. LovesDragons-you still rock!**

Loki chucked his pants at the wall. He kicked his boots off and fell into the bed. The fur blanket was still draped over his shoulder and only covered part of him but he didn't pull it over himself better. He didn't care. All he cared about was going back to sleep.

When Natasha had woken him up a few minutes ago, he had thought they were going to go at it again. But she was merely waking him up to get him out of her room and so that he would heal the giant purple mark on her neck before she met up with Fury. He healed it for her but he wasn't nice about it. The stinging sensation had made the Avenger yelp and he went out the window as she flung some garment at his retreating ass.

Loki curled up into the fur blanket; his feet poking out of the bottom. It wasn't the first time he walked out a window with only his boots on and he could guarantee that it wouldn't be the last. Sleep began tugging at the god again and Loki smiled into his pillow.

Loki cringed as he heard his bedroom door slam open. "BROTHER!"

Loki groaned and turned his head away from his brother's horrible thunderous voice. Loki was then face to face with the 'alarm clock' that was in each of the rooms: 6:37. Loki stared at it. He had only been asleep for 15 minutes!

"It is time to wake up!" Thor made his way to Loki. He quickly ducked when the alarm clock went sailing at his head. It smashed on the wall behind him.

"No one awakens at this horrible hour," Loki groused and buried himself deeper into the covers.

"Our presence is requested," Thor ducked as a pillow was sent at his head as well.

Loki swore in at least three different languages; each one getting softer as he buried deeper into his covers.

Thor sighed and grabbed Loki's ankles. He pulled as hard as he could, but Loki had gripped the head-board. "You can sleep later!"

There was a loud splintering crack as the headboard broke.

* * *

Natasha rubbed her neck as Director Fury went over some details with Steve across the room. Her neck hurt from Loki's quick healing and she swore she was going to kick his ass for it later. She grinned to herself, _or make him make it up to me._ She took a drink of her coffee. Partly because she needed the caffeine, and partly because she was trying to keep from blushing at exactly what Loki could do to make it up to her.

The elevator dinged and opened. Natasha glanced over and nearly spat out her coffee. Thor beamed at them in his general happy way. His hair was perfectly combed back into his half ponytail to keep it out of his face, and he wore his armor and red cape. Next to him was Loki. The younger god was wearing only his sweatpants, his hair was going in every direction, and only one eye was open with a look that stated he was not far from murder.

Thor took a step out of the elevator, paused, and reached back to pull Loki out of the elevator before the door shut.

"Glad you could join us," Fury smirked at Loki.

Loki glared at him with one sleepy eye.

"We need to go over a few things," Fury began, addressing all of the Avengers and Loki. "Most of the citizens have been able to get back into their homes but there is a section of the city that was hit bad by the debris and the Chitauri. I think-"

"Is Thanos here?" Loki interrupted.

Fury paused and raised his eyebrows, "No-"

Loki turned on his heel and Thor grabbed him by the elbow and made him turn back. "You are needed brother," Thor reminded him.

"As I was saying," Fury said irritated. "The citizens need to be able to get back into their homes so that we can do a full scale evacuation when Thanos does come."

The Avengers nodded but Loki just glared at him.

"Rogers, I need you to work with the police and see what all we can do to help them and then relay that to us. Romanoff and Barton, I need you to do ground work and see what buildings can be gotten into and what needs to be done to get them inhabitable again. Stark, Thor and Loki: I need you to remove the heavy debris from the rooftops and the streets. Bruce-"

"Have you lost what tiny brain you had?" Loki had opened both eyes to glare at the Director properly.

"I thought you were supposed to be strong," Fury was now getting even more irritated.

"I am not going to go out there," Loki waved his hand to the outside world.

"You know, I've had it up to here with your attitude," Fury took several steps toward Loki.

"Thanos is going to be preforming spells to get a good view of the Avengers: their weaknesses and their habits. He also has contacts that will tell him if there's a supposedly dead god helping them," Loki frowned.

"You can change shape," Fury said simply. "Easy fix."

"So there's suddenly a new guy with strength not common to Midgardians after a spectacular amount of bad luck to Thanos' last attack on the Midgardians." Loki crossed his arms. "Thanos is not stupid."

Fury glared at him with his good eye. He turned to Bruce as he muttered, "lazy son of a bitch."

Loki leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes. He imagined dangling the Director over the ice canyon in Jotunheim.

"Banner-" Fury began.

"I need to fix more things in the lab," Bruce toyed with his fingers. He didn't mean to get on the director's bad side but he also really didn't want to be out and about with a bunch of people. "I think that Loki can help me on a few other things too."

Loki didn't open his eyes; he just shrugged from the wall.

* * *

Natasha followed behind Clint. She didn't really care for the mission they were on; she was just happy that she was out of the tower. The sky was clear and there was a nice breeze blowing through the city. She could almost ignore the pieces of metal lying around the city.

Natasha paused as she stared down an alley. It was the alley she had fallen down in. She tilted her head as she calculated the damage in that area. It was as damaged as most of the surrounding area but it seemed as if part of the building had come down in that particular alley. She frowned as she realized it was where she had been before being violently shoved out the window.

"Nat?" Clint called back to her.

She shook her head and followed the archer.

"Guess Fury is trying to grease some politician's hands," Clint muttered.

Natasha nodded and they headed for the next building. It was not normal for the Avengers to check to see if water and electricity was on in a building. "He's probably trying to speed up the full scale evacuation too."

"If he can get it. You know how people are; especially politicians." He flicked the lights and sighed. Natasha pulled out a notepad and added the building to the list.

"Election year?" Nat asked.

"God I hope not," Clint muttered as he turned on a faucet. Brown liquid came out.

"Seen worse," Natasha shrugged. Clint looked at her and added the building to his other list.

* * *

The beakers and equipment were solid again with absolutely no indication that they had ever been broken. Bruce smiled as he picked up one of the tubes. He set it back in the rack and looked over to Loki. The god was yawning.

Once Loki realized he wasn't going back to bed he tossed on the Hulk Smash t-shirt, boots and even fixed his hair. He didn't complain about fixing the lab. Actually, he didn't really talk at all. Something that surprised the scientist. Bruce knew that it wasn't because he was angry at Director Fury. Actually Bruce was pretty sure that Director Fury was nothing but a giant game to Loki. Bruce assumed the silence was because he must have not gotten any sleep the night before.

"Can you fix something if you can't see it?" Bruce asked as an idea struck him.

Loki shrugged, "I need to know what it is if I am to fix it."

Bruce nodded and headed out of the room.

Loki looked around him and contemplated lying down on the counter and going to sleep. It would only take a simple spell to make the countertop into a giant fluffy pillow.

"Tony is having Jarvis put together a map of the water mains in the city, and the pipes in several buildings." Bruce headed for a computer. "I'm going to contact Natasha and Clint to see if they can let us know which buildings are messed up. Hopefully we can have at least water going."

"Water _mains_?" Loki asked.

"Giant pipes that bring water to people," Bruce answered. "They split off into smaller pipes that go into the buildings."

"Fun," Loki followed the man out of the lab.

* * *

Thor tossed the last bit of debris on the garbage heap that Stark had pointed to them several hours before. The sun was low in the sky but there would be two more hours left of the day. Thor flew for the tower. Stark had headed that way a few minutes before so that he could order food for the humongous group of people.

Thor furrowed his brow and flew downward. He landed with a thud.

"Dude, seriously!" Darcy clutched her heart. She hadn't seen the blond during his descent.

"Hey," Jane smiled at the god.

"Why are you about?" he questioned. He had thought they were going to stay in to do research.

"Breaking and entering," Darcy grinned. She turned and tried to move the debris from in front of the store.

Thor moved forward and easily pulled it aside. Quickly, Darcy darted past him and opened the broken door.

Thor followed behind her and was greeted by a smell that reminded him of the stables. "What is this?"

"Pet shop," Darcy answered. She quickly headed for the back.

"Darcy and I have been making sure that all the pet shops are up and running. These guys haven't been fed in days," Jane looked over to the whimpering puppies.

"Found it!" Darcy came back with two large bags with paw prints on them.  
"I'll get the cats," Jane took the smaller bag.

Thor wandered around as the two women fed the animals. He was surprised at how many small furry creatures were in such a small building. He furrowed his brow as he saw a large iguana. The creature flicked its tongue out at him and Thor continued on.

Darcy and Jane headed back to the back room for ferret food and food for the lizards and snakes.

Thor grimaced as he watched one of the snakes eat a dead mouse. Why any Midgardian would want that creature in his home, he didn't know. He shivered as he thought about Loki keeping the creature as a pet. Thor made his way over to a different section of the store. He bent down to look at a strange box that was see-through.

"That takes care of that," Darcy grinned as she dusted off her hands.

Jane nodded, "Let's get back….what are you doing?"  
Thor was walking quickly out of the store holding the box.

"Dude, that's totally stealing," Darcy put her hands on her hips.

Thor paused, dug into his pocket, and then slammed a gold coin on the counter. He hurried out of the shop and flew away.

"You're boyfriend sucks," Darcy frowned as she realized that they were walking back on their own.

* * *

Clint sat in the recliner as he ate a sandwich. Natasha sat on the arm of the chair, leaning against him as she ate. They were sitting like this mostly because they wanted to watch TV and Loki was taking up the entirety of the couch. She glanced over to the god and saw that he was out cold.

"I'm not saying it wasn't a good idea," Tony shrugged as he poured himself his smoothie. "I'm just saying that showing Loki where our main source of water is may not have been the best idea."

"You think he'll poison us?" Bruce questioned.

"I think he'd turn all the water in Manhattan into kool-aid for fun," Tony grabbed one of the sandwich's that Pepper made.

"He should make it watermelon," Natasha stated.

Clint opened his mouth to object and then paused, "you think he could turn it into whiskey?"

The elevator dinged and Thor darted into the room quickly. He glanced around while keeping his cape around half of his body.

"Heya, big guy," Natasha nodded her head at the god.

Thor glanced at her and then spotted Loki. His eyes gleamed and he got a devilish smirk on his face. Clint tensed in his seat slightly. The smirk seemed uncharacteristic for the blond and it was creeping him out.

Thor made his way to behind the couch and loomed over his brother.

"What are you-" Tony began but stopped when Thor sent him a glare. "Never mind."

Thor pulled a plastic container out from underneath his cape and began shaking it. Natasha furrowed her brow. Generally a container like that held something living in it. Thor gave the container a few more shakes and opened it at the top. He turned it over and dumped the contents out: A large black tarantula.

Natasha raised an eyebrow. Clint remained tense but a smirk lit up his face as the tarantula skittered over the top of the couch and headed for the sleeping gods face. It paused as it began its descent down.

Bruce shook his head, "I think I'm going to be far away from that." He headed toward the kitchen while keeping an eye on the arachnid.

Thor leaned down and blew on the back of the tarantula. Much to his dismay it didn't move. He continued blowing on the tarantula. After several blows, Loki wriggled his nose in his sleep. Thor jerked backward. When Loki didn't make any other movements, Thor used the container to prod the tarantula. The tarantula darted forward, but stopped next to Loki's face.

"He is going to send 500 of those things back at you, you realize that right?" Natasha asked. She couldn't help but admire the beautiful creature. Poor thing was probably going to be killed with whatever Thor was doing.

Thor took a deep breath and blew one more time. The tarantula slowly moved its legs on top of Loki's cheek. As it felt the warmness that it had been deprived of for the last few days, it climbed all the way onto the gods face. Thor's eyes widened and he slowly set the container down behind the couch; careful to not make a sound.

Clint sighed, "_that _ is going to give me nightmares." He shivered.

"I thought you hated Loki," Tony stared at the motionless spider.

Clint winced, "oh I think this is fantastic, but I don't like spiders."

Thor lifted himself up slowly from behind the couch and frowned at the fact that Loki hadn't moved an inch. He blew again in hopes of waking Loki up but it was the tarantula that moved. It took a step forward, one of its legs landing on Loki's eye.

Loki's face twitched and Thor scrambled for the kitchen. Loki twitched his nose at the pressure on his face. Natasha glanced to see Thor sitting on the counter watching with glee like a little kid. She turned back just in time to see Loki open his eyes.

Loki screamed in absolute terror. His hands shot up immediately to get the horrific creature off of him. His thrashing made him slide off the couch while still yelling his head off. Loki jerked up off the floor and continued to swat at every twitchy spot on his body. His eyes caught blackness and he jerked back as he realized it was the spider on the ground near him.

It was a large, hairy black spider that had its disgusting beady eyes on him. Loki tried to ignore the crawling sensation on every bit of his skin as he eyed the horrible creature. He dared to look away from it when he realized that someone was laughing: hard.

Thor gripped the counter as he laughed so hard that tears were in his eye. "Your face!"

Loki jerked his hand outward and the counter disappeared. Thor, who had been leaning forward from laughter, fell on his face. Loki's nostrils flared in anger. His eyes darted back to the spider which now had its front legs lifted up at him.

Across the room, Thor pulled himself up only to hit his head on the counter which suddenly reappeared. Loki contemplated doing more damage but he had more serious issues to worry about. He turned to look back at the spider, his hand already raised to remove the horrible creature from existence.

"Aren't you the cutest little thing," Natasha smiled as she held the tarantula close to her face. Clint shuddered as Loki looked like he would hurl. "I think I'll call you…Mischief."

Loki contemplated tossing them both out the window.

She smiled at him and walked over to the container that was behind the couch. She picked it up and headed for her room, grinning even more when Loki stepped aside to keep from being in contact with the spider.

"I thought you weren't afraid of those anymore," Thor grinned from underneath the counter.

Loki sighed, "Do you even remember what I did to you last time?"

Thor's smile immediately fell.

**No, idea when the heck the next chapter will be. Hopefully I will have time this weekend. God I hope so...**


	25. Read to Me

**I really need to get off my ass and finish this story but things keep coming up. I'm debating on whether or not to write smut next chapter. Review and tell me if you want smut or plot. or possibly both. FYI I did quite a bit of research for this chapter, so enjoy!**

**LovesDragon you are what is keeping me going at this point because if it wasn't for you I would have thought my story absolutely sucked and just gave up. Your reviews make me happy :D**

Natasha silently made her way down the hall. It was only 10 at night, but the hallways were deserted. She was pretty sure that most of the Avengers were upstairs taking full advantage of the hot tub. Natasha had been busy playing with her new pet the majority of the evening so no one questioned why she wasn't up on the roof also enjoying the hot tub.

Natasha quickly entered Loki's room, thankful that he never bothered to lock his door. She assumed because he knew that locks wouldn't keep anyone out if they really wanted in. She shut the door behind her quietly and glanced into the room: he wasn't there. She frowned and looked around again. She realized that there was steam coming from underneath the bathroom door. She contemplated going in but spotted the stack of books on his bed.

Natasha climbed onto the bed and laid down onto her stomach. She reached for the closest book and began flipping pages. She found herself once again looking at words she didn't understand; though it did have pictures on almost every page. She flipped around the book as she waited for the god to find her on his bed.

She stopped halfway through the book as she saw the picture of Thanos that Loki had showed her once before. Natasha frowned as she stared at the creepy creature. She reached out and ran one of her fingers along the swirling clouds of destruction. Immediately the picture began to move. Thanos was moving as if coming for her and she felt her body immediately tense. She could see the rage and power in every movement of his body.

"Midgardian books don't do that, do they?"

Natasha refrained herself from bolting straight up at Loki's voice. She turned slowly like she completely expected him to be there. He was busy drying his hair with a towel while looking at the book. She noted that he was already wearing some black slacks. "Move? No."

Loki crawled onto the bed and laid on his stomach next to her; leaving space between them. Natasha arched her brow at him but he ignored her.

"Are you still mad about earlier?" Natasha grinned.

"No," Loki turned the page of the book. They were now looking at some other creepy creature.

"Or is this about Mischief?" Natasha smirked.

"The spider?" Loki raised a brow. "I care not. Thor likes tossing strange creatures on me when I sleep because it is apparently quite hilarious."

"So, you have no problem with," she used her fingers to crawl across Loki's arm, "Mischief." She nearly laughed at the sudden tenseness of Loki's muscles.

"None, whatsoever," Loki said as he flipped the page again.

"What's that?" Natasha pointed to the picture of a gauntlet.

Loki ran his finger over the picture and six colorful stones swirled above it. "This gauntlet allows someone to wield the soul gems, also called the infinity gems."

"Infinity gems?" Natasha asked.

"There's the soul gem which allows you to steal others' powers," Loki ran his finger along a line on the page. "The time gem which allows control over time."

"Aptly named," Natasha commented.

"Space gem allows you to move things anywhere through reality. You've already seen the mind gem…"

"The stone in your spear?" Natasha asked. Loki nodded.

"The reality gem is supposed to be able to grant wishes and the power gem allows one to access any and all power that has ever existed." Loki pointed to the red gem above the gauntlet.

"So this stuff exists," Natasha frowned as she thought about all the different powers.

"My father has the gauntlet locked away and my brother has been scattering the gems so that they are unlikely to be held by a single person." Loki flipped the page.

"What's Asgard like?" Natasha asked suddenly. She was starting to think it was some kind of warzone with all these warriors and powers of destruction.

Loki closed the book and got up off the bed. He pulled out his 'bag of tricks' and reached into it. Natasha yet again noticed how the item he retrieved did not look like it should have been able to fit in the bag in the first place. Loki climbed back onto the bed with her and opened the book. She was greeted by an image of mountains covered in fogs and mist.

"That's Asgard?" She asked.

Loki shook his head and chuckled, "This is Niflheim, the oldest of the realms." He turned the page and she saw a giant dragon. The next page held giant waves of ice. Loki continued flipping, ignoring the words on the pages.

"That's Muspelheim," Loki stated as he passed a picture full of fire and lava. The next several pictures were of dark creatures and large giants. One in particular held a flaming sword and looked extremely menacing.

"And this is Asgard," Loki stopped on a page.

Natasha's eyes widened. It was a fantastical city with a rainbow leading up to the gates. She could see the forests and beautiful wilderness behind the city that was underneath a crystal clear sky. She reached up and touched the picture and it shined from the page. The trees blew with a breeze and she could see flying crafts move in the picture.

Loki turned the page and showed pictures. "Agnar, the king of eagles." He pointed to a picture. He began flipping through and pointed to several others. "Alibar, skilled swordsman and has quite a few interesting magic items up for trade…though he tends to try to sneak them back."

Natasha blinked as she realized that Loki knew these people.

"Argog, the warrior… This is Bor, my grandfather." Loki pointed to a very scary looking male with a helmet that had horns coming forward like a longhorn bull's. Bor carried a large axe in one hand. "And this is Buri, his father." Loki pointed to the next page that had an Asgardian that looked just as menacing.

"Do you have any relatives that don't look like they can kill a planet?" Natasha frowned.

Loki looked at her.

"I mean besides your brother the labradoodle?"

"What is a-"

Natasha snickered and turned the page. She waited for the explanation on the frozen tundra and dark skies. She turned to look at Loki when he didn't speak.

"That's Jotunheim," he told her. "It is nothing but a frozen wasteland now." He turned several of the pages and stopped on a picture of a forest near a lake. "This is Midgard."

"I think your book needs updating," Natasha grinned.

"It says that men were created by my father and two uncles Vili and Ve," Loki read. "The first man was created from an Ash log and the first woman was created from an elm log."

"Please tell me you are kidding," Natasha stared at the younger version of Odin and the two other Asgardians.

"I have no idea if that's true. Father is not fond of Midgard and hardly talks about it. I am sure that hasn't improved since Jane," Loki smirked. He became rigid as a knock was heard on the door.

Natasha felt her skin prickle and she knew that she was hidden from view. Loki went to answer the door and she was surprised to see Steve at the door.

"Can we talk?" Steve questioned. Loki headed into the hallway and shut the door behind him. Before the door shut, Natasha was able to see the surprise on Steve's face from not being invited in instead.

"Weird," Natasha muttered. She flipped through the pages and saw pictures of men and women in a rather primitive state. There was a large snake circling the Earth. Natasha started to turn the page but stopped and glanced at the door. She sighed; it helped to have someone who could actually read the book.  
The Avenger flipped back to the previous pages so she could play with the pictures. She stopped on the picture of the frozen tundra. She poked the picture and it was as if a blizzard started on the page. _Must not be a very important place,_ she mused. Loki had to think for a second before being able to even come up with anything about the wasteland. She flipped to the next page and her eyes widened as her mouth opened slightly in surprise. Staring at her was a blue creature with red eyes. She looked up and stared at the door that Loki had exited.

* * *

Loki leaned against the wall and listened to the Captain. Apparently Loki's previous spell had the man in loops with his morality. It made Loki feel quite happy that he never had such qualms. It was actually quite comical to Loki how much Steve was distressed by his actions.

"I know this is a matter of life or death," Steve continued. "But I don't think I can live knowing that that's what we did."

Loki held back the smirk. There was an easy fix to that particular problem. "So, no more disembowelment?"

Steve frowned, "Well, I'm not for _that._ But the actual spell: I think it crossed a line."

_Quite sure it crossed more than one._ Loki nodded to Steve. "I will refrain if it will make this situation easier."

"We are in this together?" Steve held his hand out for the god.

Loki held back his sigh and shook it. "We will fight side by side against Thanos."

* * *

Loki shook his head as he entered the room. "The Captain really trusts in people, doesn't he?"

"Please don't ruin that." Natasha looked up from the book. "It's quite endearing."

"Endearing?" Loki's features shifted into Steve's. He crawled onto the bed and pinned Natasha. "How endearing?"

"Not that endearing," Natasha pushed the blond off. He chuckled and shifted back into Loki. He glanced down at the book and saw a serpent circled around the Earth.

"The Midgarian Serpent," Loki chuckled. "I told Thor about this and kept him off of Midgard for centuries because of it."

"Midgardian Serpent?" Natasha blinked. "That doesn't exist."

"Maybe it died," Loki grinned.

"What's this one?" Natasha turned several pages and stopped on a wooded area.

"Vanaheim," Loki settled in next to her, this time without a space between them. It was nice to actually have someone curious about these things. Better yet was someone who was actually listening to what he was saying.

* * *

Natasha walked toward Stark tower which loomed ahead of her. It had been an interesting day. Fury hadn't mentioned her not going back out so she took it as an opportunity. The first thing she did was head for the library which was thankfully out of the range of the previous destruction.

She spent a majority of the morning in piles of books from all sorts of different genres. Only after two hours, did she start reading what she had come to read. She didn't dare look at it before that in case Loki had followed her there. She had pulled off the shelf several books on Norse legends and mythologies. It took some time but she finally found information on the Jotuns. Not much, but enough for her to realize that Asgardians did not care for them too much and that they were a large race with blue skin and red eyes.

Natasha recalled how upset Loki had been at his skin being blue. It was as if he was not used to seeing it like that. It made sense though. Thor had already mentioned that Loki was adopted and Loki had mentioned his mother taught him magic. _And what would you do if you adopted a blue child and have all the magic in the world? Make him look like he belongs. _

Natasha entered the bottom level of the tower and tilted her head at the blond god that was pacing like crazy. "Did someone forget to feed you?"

"They better not have!" Thor roared. "Fury said they would be back with the cheesiest of pizzas."

"I'm sure," Natasha smiled. "How long ago was that?"

"Long time…" Thor growled.

"Are you still down here?" Fury's voice sounded. They both turned to see him and Steve carrying pizzas.

"Can you take some of these? I can't see." Steve tried peering over the mountain of pizzas.

Thor quickly grabbed half of the pizzas and Natasha took a few from Fury so that they could navigate the tower easier. Steve kicked the button on the elevator.

"I talked to your brother last night," Steve told Thor. "He actually listened."

Thor snorted loudly and entered the elevator. Steve followed him in with a confused look on his face.

Fury looked over at Natasha, "where've you been all morning?"  
"Library," Natasha shrugged. "Ran out of books here."

Fury knew there was more to her answer than that but didn't pry. Prying didn't work with Natasha.

"Loki may hear the words, but he does not listen," Thor told Steve as Natasha squeezed between them so that she could push the button to the pent house.

"He occasionally listens," Natasha shrugged. "I was able to bribe him with candy."

Thor laughed, "you did not."

Natasha and Fury exchanged glances of confusion.

"Brother does not get bribed. He goes along with your plans because he wants to, not for any other reason. You may think you are bribing him, but he is just doing what he planned to do from the beginning."

Fury sighed and shook his head.

"I got him to heal Clint when he didn't want to," Natasha told him. "And he doesn't like Clint."

"That's probably because he didn't care one way or the other. He respects you and decided to do it," Thor shrugged.

"Respects?" Fury asked.

Thor turned to look at the director, "Lady Natasha was able to trick him within moments of meeting him. He holds great respect for her."

Natasha smirked as a tinge of pride hit her from being able to trick the god of trickery so easily.

Steve turned to ask how Thor knew that but his question died in his throat as the doors opened. In that split second, Natasha's face changed. If Steve hadn't been looking at her he wouldn't have been able to catch it. He wouldn't even been able to place the expression if Thor's entire face wasn't filled with it: jealousy.

"NO!" Thor stomped out of the elevator which made the whole thing shake. The others quickly moved off of it in fear that it was going to break in his rage.

Loki laughed at his brother's outrage as he twirled Jane around to the loud music playing from the game. Darcy was grinning while still holding the game remote for her dancing game. She was ignoring the game itself as the two danced to the music. "Exactly why have you told everyone that Asgardians can't dance?"  
Thor shoved the pizzas onto the couch, grabbed Loki by the hair and dragged the laughing god away.

"It was my idea Thor," Jane called.

Loki winced, "that actually makes things worse."

Thor glared at Loki, "is this your revenge?"

"For cruelly waking me up from my sleep by placing some disgusting creature on my face? Why would I want revenge for that?" Loki smirked.

Thor glared at him, "you are not dancing off with Jane."

"I am not trying to steal Jane away," Loki leaned against the couch. "And if I were to get revenge over such a petty thing, I would think of something much better."

"Like what?" Natasha grinned. Steve eyed the calm woman. There was not even a hint of jealousy on her now.

Thor rubbed the back of his neck, "Loki will either cause me great physical harm, or wait until I least expect his trickery and create several humiliating pranks that may also cause physical harm."

"The pink dress didn't cause physical harm," Loki smirked.

"It caused physical harm to you," Thor muttered. He looked back to Natasha, "he's going to probably wait until after Thanos because I am awaiting for his trickery and because physical harm to me would worsen our chances against such a strong enemy."

"Or…" Loki grabbed a slice of pizza out of one of the boxes, "I plan to create a lot of physical harm soon, heal you in time for Thanos, and then recreate the physical harm."

Thor's eyes widened and turned to look at Loki's dead serious face. As soon as he looked away, Loki smirked.

"I still don't want you dancing," Thor crossed his arms.

"Seriously," Jane rolled her eyes and headed for the pizza that Natasha had set down.

"I couldn't help myself, she has quite the backside," Loki winced as Thor smacked him upside the head.

Jane sighed, "I'm just going to take it as a compliment."

"You should," Loki stated. "You have one of the best backsides here."

Thor growled possessively, "the best."

Loki tilted his head toward Natasha, "Tasha's is best."

Natasha, who was leaning over the pizza to get a slice, didn't even look back at him, "quit looking at my ass."

"Actually," Loki frowned. "Captain might have the best backside."

"Not this again," Thor sighed.

"Wait, what?" Steve blinked in utter confusion.

"It is a pretty good ass," Natasha agreed as she gave it a once over.

"Can we stop talking about the Captain's ass?" Fury frowned.

Darcy grinned, "or at least wait for Coulson to get here."

**Not my longest chapter but it was fun to write. Now I'm off to bed :D**

**Remember to let me know if you want plot, smut or both!**


	26. Toy

**I finally have my laptop back! So, I wrote a chapter as soon as I got it back. Hope you guys like!**

"Done already?" Steve teased.

Natasha rubbed her forehead with the towel that she brought and smirked at him. "I did get here before you did."

Steve shrugged and tossed down the dumbbell that he had been holding. "Want to grab some food?"

Natasha shook her head, "I'm going to go get a shower. I'm starting to smell like you guys."

"Starting?" Steve chuckled when she smacked him. He followed the small red head out of the gym.

"Not an invitation," She smiled without turning around.

"What?" Steve blinked and then turned red.

"You're following me back?" She turned her head to look at him as they walked to the stairs. Tony was currently fixing the elevator after Thor had jammed all the buttons in irritation to Loki's remarks from the day before. From what she had overheard, the whole panel was demolished.

"Just wanted to talk a little bit," he said as they passed a random shield agent. There had been several here lately due to Fury's orders. They were only here during the middle of the day, which Loki made himself scarce during. If Fury hadn't spoken to him about being scarce, then Loki had just taken the hint.

"What about?" Natasha opened the door to the stairwell and headed on up.

Steve glanced around the stairwell and saw nobody else. "Thor had a heck of a reaction to Loki yesterday."

Natasha glanced back at him, "that's right, you weren't here."

"Here for what?" Steve questioned.

"Loki and Thor had a fight and they tried to destroy the living room," Natasha told him.

"I meant that you could see the jealousy on his face the second the elevator opened," Steve commented.

"I'm sure," Natasha said as she opened the door to the floor with their bedrooms.

"It's a funny emotion," Steve said as he followed Natasha. "Just the expression alone-"

"Thor has a bit of a….temper," Natasha frowned as she realized exactly how many of her friends could be described like that."

"You don't," Steve said.

Natasha smirked. "I just don't show mine."

"Why are you jealous of Loki?" Steve asked. He watched as Natasha paused and turned to look at him in complete confusion.

"Why would I be-"  
"You tell me," Steve stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Thor wasn't the only one who looked ready to hit something when that elevator door opened, and I don't think Jane is your type."

"Neither is Loki," Natasha opened her bedroom door and pushed her door shut behind her.

Steve caught the door before it shut and headed into her room. "I just want to know what's going on."

"Nothing," Natasha stated as she headed for Mischief.

"I know what I saw," Steve stared at her.

Natasha turned and returned his gaze. He had that look on his face. The look that meant he was going to do whatever it took to get to the bottom of this. And if she was in his shoes, she would start by questioning her closest friends, like Clint. To see if it was real or if it was an act. To see if Fury was getting her to pretend to hang around Loki.

"Jealousy is a strong word," Natasha frowned.

"Is something going on that I should know about?" Steve frowned. "Does Fury have you-"

"I'm sleeping with Loki," Natasha sat down on her bed and began taking off her shoes.

Steve blinked. It took him a few moment to even speak, "so…..Fury…has you…"

"Nope," Natasha tossed her shoe to the wall. "I'm bored and I needed an outlet. Clint is currently off the market and Loki has a reputation." She tossed her other shoe to the wall and looked over to Steve. She looked at him expectantly as he stared at her for a loss of words.

After a moment he managed, "does anyone know about this?"

"Nope," Natasha pulled off her socks and threw them over to the wall.

"So….you actually are jealous of Loki…" Steve blinked.

"Wrong again," Natasha stood up.

"The way you looked at them together," Steve said.

"Maybe I was irritated," Natasha shrugged. "Fury has me confined to this tower for the most part and I really don't feel like trying to find a new toy."

Steve closed his eyes and gripped the bridge of his nose as if he was trying to erase that particular image from his mind.

Natasha smirked at the shade of red he was turning. "Speaking of toys, Amanda in legal has this collection of-"

"No!" Steve held up his hands. "I don't want to know." He sighed and took a deep breath. "Do you trust Loki to be that close?"

"Has nothing to do with trust," Natasha told him.

"Should I be worried?" Steve asked.

Natasha saw his worried expression. Steve had the bad habit of trying to be her big brother and felt the need to try to protect her. She figured it had something to do with him being a senior citizen. She smiled. "Loki has done nothing to hurt me. And considering that I'm useful to him at the moment, I doubt he would do anything."

"Would you tell me?" Steve asked.

Natasha blinked. If Loki wanted her dead she wouldn't have the time to tell anyone. "Of course."

Steve smiled and scratched the back of his head, "I guess I'll let you shower."

"You know, Darcy is single," Natasha grinned. "You could go find her shower."

"Bye, Nat," Steve's cheeks went slightly pink.

Natasha grinned. She loved how easy it was to make the Captain blush. She followed him to the door, "ask her about the concert in Rio." She laughed as she shut the door behind the even redder Captain.

"Toy?"

Natasha's hand stilled on the door as she heard Loki's voice behind her. She turned to see Loki leaning against the wall next to the window. He had his head tilted in question though his face was impassive.

Natasha smiled, "Yep." She made her way to the god.

Loki raised a brow, but didn't move away. Natasha pulled on his arm and pushed him to the bed. He fell onto it with ease: he wasn't putting up a fight. Natasha crawled on top of him and kissed him roughly.

"Door isn't locked," Loki stated.

"Lock it then," Natasha pulled her shirt off. Loki eyed her and she heard the lock click. His hands snaked up her sides, the right one going up her back and undoing her bra. She shivered as the cold air touched her bare breasts. "That's a good toy."

Loki growled and tossed her onto her back. His body was on top of hers in a flash. Already he had thrust his hips forward against her core. She could feel the heat even with her workout pants on. Loki leaned forward, "who's to say you aren't the toy?"

Natasha stared him in the eye. "Then play with me."

Her pants were gone in a flash. His naked body covered her own in a matter of seconds. Natasha spread her legs in anticipation and was not disappointed. Loki thrust into her deeply with no other warning. Natasha gasped and gripped Loki's forearm as she tried to adjust to his length and girth.

Loki groaned as he fully sheathed himself inside of her. She was tighter than usual because he had not prepared her, but she was hot and wet for him. Loki took a shuddering breath and thrust his hips again. He was not gentle. He took her hard and quick.

Natasha's nails dug into the sheets as she held on for dear life. The erratic torturous pleasure made her gasp and moan in the ways she knew the god would love. She reached one hand up to grip his hair so that she could bring him down to her.

Loki swatted her hand away and instead clasped his own hand over her throat. Natasha's eyes widened and he felt her walls tighten against him. He tightened his grip.

Natasha's hands gripped his forearm. Nails dug into his flesh as her orgasm washed over him. There was no fear in her, her eyes only held desire. Her hand were pulling on his arm instead of trying to push him away. She was enjoying the assault on her body.

Loki clenched his jaw as he realized he was going over the edge. He tightened his grip on her throat in hopes to gain control of the situation before he embarrassed himself. Her hot walls tightening around him as another orgasm shot through her made the effort a waste of time.

"Tasha," Loki moaned as he buried himself deep inside of her, releasing his seed.

Natasha wrapped her legs around him, relishing the heat that filled her up completely. She took a deep breath when Loki removed his hand from her throat, but it was short lived when he laid himself on her body.

"You really are too heavy," Natasha wriggled underneath him.

Loki chuckled and pulled himself up. He crawled onto the bed as she scooted back onto it. They ended up lying next to each other; skin touching but neither of them holding onto the other.

"I think a quickie was exactly what I needed," Natasha grinned.

"You're welcome," Loki grinned back.

Natasha frowned and glanced over to the shower, "I want to shower but I don't wanna move."

"_Don't want_ to or _can't_?" Loki turned his head to look at her.

"Not 100% sure at the moment," Natasha sighed happily.

"I can make you sure…well, in about five minutes," Loki leaned back into the pillows.

"Oh the great god of mischief can't get it up for a second go?" Natasha poked him in the stomach.

Loki flicked her nipple which made the avenger smack him. Natasha stuck her tongue out at the god and poked her in the nose.

They play fought against each other for several minutes, jabbing and poking. Occasionally tickling the other.

"So," Loki poked Natasha in the stomach. "Is the Captain jealous?"  
"Jealous?" Natasha raised a brow and leaned forward to pinch his butt. "No, just over protective."

"So you decided to tell him you were laying with me?" Loki swatted her hand away and flicked her ear as he chuckled. "I assume there is an ulterior motive?"

Natasha shrugged away his touch. "He wasn't going to let up. He saw something on my face, probably irritation, and wanted to know why. If I hadn't told him he would have hinted around to Clint and Clint would have dragged it out of him." Natasha jabbed him in the belly button. "Because Steve would expect me to have shared everything with Clint and Clint would want to know what he didn't know."

"Is Clint the one who couldn't make you release?" Loki asked. He snorted when Natasha pinched his nipple.

"I don't feel like trying to find a new fuck buddy, so try to not freak Steve out." Natasha crossed her arms over her breasts to prevent Loki from pinching her nipples.

Loki blinked and mouthed 'fuck buddy' to her.

"That's what you are, deal with it." Natasha smirked.

"Are you a 'fuck buddy'?" Loki questioned.

Natasha laughed at how weird the phrase sounded coming from Loki's mouth.

* * *

"This," Natasha grinned as she slathered jelly onto a piece of bread. "Is possibly the best thing from the U.S." She slathered jelly onto four more slices of bread.

Loki picked up the jar that Natasha had pulled out. It was of that plastic material that everything in Midgard seemed to be made of. He looked over the label of the 'creamy peanut butter' before setting it back down onto the counter. Natasha promptly picked it up and started spreading that onto other slices of bread.

Loki was dressed in his Asgardian casual, as Natasha liked to call it, and had even straightened his hair up. The claw marks had already vanished from his arm, though she wasn't sure if he healed it or if he tossed up an illusion. She had noticed that the dark circles underneath his eyes would disappear without warning in the morning.

Natasha had bothered to shower and tossed on jeans and a red t-shirt. She was currently barefoot. She doubted Tony would bug her about it. It was later in the evening and Pepper had gotten in earlier. Natasaha doubted she was going to see him for the rest of the night. The bruises on her neck were gone as well. Loki had healed them before she had even asked this time.

"Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich," Natasha handed one of the concoctions over to the god. She grinned and he gingerly took it from her grasp. She pushed herself up onto the counter and sat to watch the god try the yummy goodness.

"This is surprisingly good," he licked his lips. He took a larger bite and Natasha grinned as she watched Loki's teeth get slightly stuck together.

"It might help to take smaller bites," Natasha grinned.

Loki made his way up to her, moving in between her legs until the counter stopped him from moving any closer. His heat intoxicated her. She had just had him but she wanted him again. Loki licked his lips and bent down to kiss her.

The kiss was not as rough as usual. Loki took his time. His lips tingled over her own and she breathed in his musky sweet scent. Her fingers had already moved to the back of his neck, to press him forward but not to dominate him.

They slowly parted, Natasha's eyes felt heavy and hard to open. Her heart raced from the kiss. It was strange; it hadn't been that rough. She looked up into Loki's eyes to see confusion and curiosity.

_Ding!_

Loki jerked back to the island across from Natasha. Natasha grabbed a sandwich and took a large bite before they could see her kiss swollen lips. She glanced over to Loki and nearly rolled her eyes at the fact that Loki still had his sandwich in his hand.

"I'm glad he fixed the elevator before she got here," Fury sighed as he headed into the room.

"Who Pepper?" Steve blinked. "Oh, yeah."

Fury stopped as he saw the two eating sandwiches.

"Want a Peanut jelly and Butter sandwich?" Loki asked. Natasha noted how he purposefully got the name wrong. The other Avengers would focus on that instead of asking why the heck they were sitting near each other-alone.

"Peanut butter and Jelly," Steve corrected. He didn't look at either of them directly.

"Midnight snack?" Fury asked as he headed for the fridge.

"It's only 9," Loki commented.

"Colloquialism," Fury stated.

"So then you are here for a 'midnight snack'?" Loki asked.

Fury sighed and turned. He was greeted with a sandwich.

"I made them," Natasha stated. Fury sighed and took one of the sandwiches off the plate. "Well, I showed an alien how to make PB &amp; J, so my night is complete." Natasha pushed herself off the counter.

Steve grabbed a sandwich and followed her to the elevator. Loki overheard him asking about a sparring session sometime the next day. It wasn't long before the door shut.

"I don't know if you noticed," Fury began. "But there are a lot of people running around the tower lately. I'd appreciate it if you remained unseen."

Loki shrugged, "I can get around without being seen. Didn't feel like meeting new people anyway." He then shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth.

Fury raised a brow and decided not to comment on the fact that Thor ate his sandwiches in an identical manner. "Have you found out more about portals or whatever to stop this 'supervillain' guy?"

Loki paused and then swallowed his food, "I am coming up with a lot of dead ends." He sighed. "Thanos was entrapped long ago when there were more sorcerers and other magic users about. Most of the spells are designed for many people."

"You can't alter them to where you can just do it?" Fury asked.

"So far, no." Loki admitted. "The spell allows the powerful magic to flow between many people to prevent too much magic being built up in one and killing them. Even with my ability to control large masses of magic, I cannot control what is needed."

"Can a non-magic user-"

"No," Loki sighed. "Not unless you want to explode."

"I'd rather not," Fury shook his head. He looked at the god who was fiddling with the last sandwich. Loki had never been quite this chatty before, but then again he hadn't spoken to him casually about Thanos. "What should we expect?"

Loki looked up and frowned, "elaborate."

Fury shrugged. "You think we will win?"

"On a good day?" Loki frowned. "We have about a 50/50 chance."

Fury nearly chuckled, "I don't think you are giving us our due. We have taken on bad guys before. We took you down."  
Loki rolled his eyes, "after nearly getting yourselves killed. Anyway, that was nothing compared to what Thanos will have in store."

"Oh, so you and an armada of aliens is nothing?" Fury frowned.

Loki looked him dead in the eye and Fury felt a shiver go down his spine. "I am not a villain compared to him." Loki explained. "He's what nightmares are made of."

"He has another armada?" Fury asked.

"Possibly," Loki shrugged. "A distraction at most. He can take us on himself."

"You think he will kill us that easily?" Fury felt anger well inside of him.

Loki shook his head. "I will fight until my dying breath to win, as will Thor. But if we lose….you will wish that you died on the battlefield."

"Cruel to his captives?" Fury frowned.

Loki laughed cruelly, "He has a talent with it, and he enjoys it." Loki frowned. "If he wants you dead, he will kill you without mercy. If he wants information, he will pry it out of you in due time. But….but if he wants to just torture you…"

Fury saw Loki's eyes become distant for a moment.

"He does what it takes to break your body and soul," Loki breathed. "There was some man that had wandered onto his bad side. He had the Chitauri take him and peel off his toes layer by layer. Then prod him with hot sticks until he screamed. They dug into his chest so that he could see his heart beat. Then when the man begged for death they brought in this young woman." Loki paused. "I could only hear the screams, but it became apparent that that woman was his daughter. She screamed in both pain and shame as they took her in front of him. And then screamed in agony as they ripped her heart out before eating his."

Fury stared at him.

Loki turned to look at the man, "he relishes pain from others and he's very creative."

"Then what did he do to you?" Fury asked frowning. In reality he was curious what the evil bastard could do to someone as powerful as Loki.

"He caught up with me and managed to get a spell over me. Made me basically unable to cast my magic, but I could heal." Loki frowned. "Do you know what a blood eagle is?"

Fury nodded.

"It was one of his favorites," Loki shrugged. "He liked ripping of nails and skin. He figured out that he could detach digits and limbs after a while. I am quite good at healing myself."

"What else," Fury swallowed against the lump in his throat.

"The rest is none of your business," Loki's voice wasn't harsh but somewhat far away. As if the god himself did not want to think about what had happened. "If you have any loved ones, then I would keep them a secret. Or if we lose," Loki pushed himself off of the counter, "show them mercy and kill them yourself."

**Hope you guys liked it. **

**I am hoping to finish the story by mid October because my bi-term starts then. Fingers crossed on that and hopefully the fact I have my laptop back will help.**

**So a Question for you guys: do you want more nightmares? I pretty much know what I want to happen the next chapter, but I can add nightmares if people like them.**


	27. Ten Days

**Ok. I actually have the next THREE chapters written and I am working on editing them now. Hopefully all will be out this weekend. I was hoping to do it last weekend but this chica ended up with severe strep throat. IT SUCKED! Anywho, I don't wanna die anymore so I am trying to finish these up for you guys. **

_Less than two weeks._ Fury wiped the sweat off of his face. _Ten days._ _Ten days until Thanos comes._ Fury once again wondered if Loki was right about the timing. Everyone was set on the date of ten days, though no one was sure the exact hour. It unnerved Fury how everyone just trusted Loki so easily.

The one-eyed king had shown up again today. It had been a quick discussion with his two sons. The king had barely acknowledged Director Fury. He had simply told everyone the plan that Asgard had. Because Loki had not found a way to contain or prevent Thanos from coming, the Asgardian army would be at the ready to attack when Thanos came. Their priority would be the large Chitaurian army that was sure to come. Odin would lead them.

The Avengers would take on Thanos himself. Loki would be hidden by magic and helping the Avengers take the brute down. Fury would be leading his Shield soldiers to attack the Chitaurian army with the Asgardian army.

Odin had not directly said anything against the Shield soldiers but he raised an eyebrow at Fury. It was obvious that he thought they would be of no use. Fury ignored it though. He was afraid between the Asgardian army and the Chitaurian army that there wouldn't be a Manhattan left.

* * *

Loki tossed the book to the side of the room: it was as useless as all the others. His father had looked at him hopefully today. Odin was hoping that he had been able to find anything to stop that horrible bastard and Loki was empty handed.

The next book held nothing of use and it was also sent to the corner. Every single spell required too many individuals, would kill him in the process, required too much time, or required an exact location where Thanos would then have to stand still in it for five minutes. Loki was almost sure there wouldn't be a Midgard in five damn minutes. He magicked a book to him and flipped through the pages. It was the book that he had borrowed from Frey. He looked over the book. Several minutes later his stomach growled loudly and he placed the book on his night stand.

* * *

Natasha headed into her room, quickly shutting the door behind her. She was starting to feel that rush of anticipation before a big battle. But it was so far away, a whole ten days, and that was just making her antsy.

Then Loki had glanced at her while he was grabbing some food. Couldn't have been more than two seconds but the point was made. She was sure in a few minutes he would be here. Natasha began undressing. She needed the release and the calm that would follow.

She left the red panties and bra on. She knew he'd like to play with it a bit. Then Natasha crawled onto the bed and laid against the pillows. She closed her eyes and waited for the god to make his presence known.

After five minutes she felt the cool air from an open window. Then she felt fingers; long slender fingers sliding up her inner thigh. She opened her eyes just as Loki crawled on top of her. The roughness of the fabric of his clothes felt good against her bare skin. She felt exposed and it felt good. Natasha wrapped her legs around those sinful hips and arched her back. Loki took the hint.

Loki bit just hard enough for her to feel it through her bra. Natasha ran her fingers through his hair and pushed him against her breast: she wanted more. Loki bit harder making Natasha gasp. He pulled the fabric aside and licked around her nipple then blew. He took the hardened nipple into his mouth and sucked on it. Natasha was now running both of her hands through his hair, egging him on.

* * *

Fury stormed into the lab, he whirled around and nearly cursed. Neither Stark nor Banner was present. He assumed they had went out for lunch again. Fury sighed. He had wanted to see how well their magic detecting program had come along. Both geniuses had said that it was working fine, but Fury still had yet to see a finished product. They were getting way too close to the wire now.

Just as he was about to walk out of the lab, Fury spotted the tablet that they were always working on. He strolled over and picked it up.

"I'm just saying that there are techniques to controlling your anger," Banner told the irritated Stark that entered the lab behind him.

"And I'm just saying that there is a right way and a wrong way to make a taco. Why are you in here?" Stark tossed down a bag onto the counter.

"I want to see the program," Fury stated. "The one with the magic."

"It's working just fine," Stark said and began digging into his bag.

Banner frowned and then began digging into his own bag.

"Thanos is coming and I want to see where you are in it," Fury fiddled with the password on the tablet.

Stark set down his taco and made his way to Fury. He grabbed the tablet and began typing in his password. After a few minutes, Tony made it to where the image was projected against the wall.

"That looks like the tower," Fury commented.

"That's probably because it is," Stark panned out from the tower and Fury could see the whole city. "I've been mapping out the city in the program so that whenever there is magic you know exactly where it is."

"Is that the lights?" Fury frowned at the many things moving around the city.

"Actually that's people," Banner commented. "Loki told us that everything has magic-including us. The brighter the light, the stronger the magic."

Stark nodded, "we have set an alarm to notify us if there is a large amount of magic in the city. We have also compensated for Loki."

"Loki has a pretty set range of magic," Banner said. "So we input that range so he generally won't set off the alarm."

"Generally?" Fury asked.

Stark answered, "apparently magic is based on emotion. So when he gets angry or upset it goes into a higher range."

"Sometimes goes up really high when he's happy too," Banner commented.

* * *

Natasha straddled the god, gripping his throat. He smirked at her as if to challenge her. Natasha rolled her hips, rubbing her ass against his hard cock. Loki groaned and gripped that perfect backside. He wanted to be inside of her.

She reached down, while staring into the god's eyes, and slid her hand into her panties. He didn't break his gaze from her. He watched as her lips trembled; felt her fingers moving between his skin and her core. Her brow furrowed softly and then he felt her wetness. His cock was now painfully erect. The woman knew it too. Natasha had figured out how much he enjoyed feeling her release on him, even when he wasn't inside her. Loki let out a growl. Natasha smirked and pulled her fingers out of her panties and stuck them in his mouth. He sucked the delicious juices off.

In a split second she found herself on her back. She blinked as she realized his hand were on her hips and he was now licking the wet panties; playing with them as he played with her. He rubbed the fabric up against her clit and she gripped his hair. Loki pulled the fabric away and ran his tongue all the way up her slit. Natasha bucked against the sensation.

She held a hand over her mouth when he nibbled on her clit. After toying with it, licking and prodding at it, Loki noticed that Natasha was being unusually quiet. He smacked her hand away.

He licked his lips, "scream."

* * *

"Where exactly is Loki on this map?" Fury looked around, he spotted the tower.

"He's over there somewhere," Stark waved his hand dismissively. "You can actually see the people on the streets magic go up and down slightly. I think it's because they have no control."

"Show me, Loki." Fury turned to look at Stark.

Stark shrugged and toggled the program to show the whole tower. Fury raised an eyebrow, the people in the tower were of a brighter color than the people on the street. They appeared light blue against the background. His eyes found the almost white light in the tower.

"That's a lot of magic," Fury commented.

"It goes white when he's really pissed," Stark told him. "I can show you when they put that tarantula on his face."

"Hone in on him," Fury told Stark.

Tony glanced at Bruce who shrugged, unsure of what to do. Tony honed in to the floor level.

"So you can track Loki's every movement with this program," Fury stated. "Handy little item."

"Still working out a few kinks," Tony commented. "I should probably work on them now."

"Can you find out what he is doing?" Fury asked. "He blocks my cameras."

Stark frowned and pressed the wrong button on the program, the image shot up to city again. "And there's the kink."

Banner nearly sighed in relief. You could never be too sure what Loki was up to at any given time. And if he was toying with a certain Avenger they didn't want to find out if Fury knew or not.

"See if you can try again," Fury headed for Stark. This time he watched closely as Stark put in the inputs.

The image changed and honed in on the floor and then closed in on Loki.

"What the hell is he-"Fury sighed and closed his eyes.

Tony blinked. It was obvious exactly what Loki was doing. The bright light was entangled in a darker light in a rather horizontal position.

"I guess I should expect as much," Fury refrained from rolling his eyes. He had read about the god of mischief and his numerous exploits. So why wouldn't he go find some idiot woman to blow off some steam. "He better not be using mind control to do it."

Tony and Bruce glanced at each other.

"I don't think he has that ability without the stone," Bruce commented.

"Maybe we should spy on the 'god' later," Stark stated. "When it isn't porn."

"Probably a good id-" Fury's brow furrowed.

"That is a rather fascinating position though," Tony raised an eyebrow.

"What room is that?" Fury asked. He was looking at the rooms close to it and had spotted the elevator. Counting the rooms down would mean that that wasn't Loki's room.

"Um," Bruce looked to Stark.

Fury's eye widened. He looked back to the two scientists who were looking at each other. "Did you know about this?"  
Stark tilted his head, "you didn't?"

* * *

They were tangled. Their bodies, the sheets, everything around them. Beads of sweat were going down both bodies as he thrust inside of her. Natasha met every thrust with her hips. His lips were on her lips. The kisses were tingly; different somehow yet exactly the same. She couldn't get enough of the kisses or his lips. The nips and playful way he ran his tongue over her own lips.

She was falling over the edge slowly. Her entire belly was on fire as she neared her peak. It was going to devour her and she wanted it to. She wanted that heat inside of her as she screamed to the heavens. Her leg curled around his as he gripped her breast. It was almost bruising and she loved it. She needed it so much. She needed him.

Natasha threw her head back as he bit her neck. She was close, so very close and he was making her wait. He was teasing her body to pull her slowly over that peak. She only hoped they would ride their peaks together. She came so much more whenever he came inside of her.

Gasping, Natasha gripped his back and tried to hold on. Her hips thrust upward to him. She was almost there. His teeth sank deeper and she nearly whimpered. She needed it so bad.

She felt herself topple over slowly. The rush of pleasure starting from her core and cascading through every point of her being. She screamed out in Russian. Her mind became blank from the pleasure as she felt his heat soar through her too.

Loki was holding onto her tightly as he rode his orgasm, her walls pulling every bit of him out. He loved this language of hers. It was beautiful to his ears. She was more herself in this language. She wasn't holding back what she was saying. The expletives and the moaning of how wonderful his body was and how much she needed it. He assumed that she didn't realize that he was gifted with the all-tongue and could speak and understand all languages.

She moaned again and her lips were back on his. He enjoyed her kisses. They were completely intoxicating. Lately they had become even more so. He wasn't sure what she was doing different but he couldn't get enough of those soft lips of hers.

**Dun dun dunnnnnnn. Lol. Seriously love reviews people. They make me happy and convince me to stay up late to finish editing XD**


	28. The Crystal

**Annnnnnd I'm back! Woot! I have like two more chapters ready to go after I edit them. **

Natasha's eyes opened. It was insanely hot wherever she was. She looked over to see Loki sleeping next to her. _Oh, he fucked me into a coma again._ She smirked but it was short lived. Loki's face was contorted into pain and fear. Her skin prickled, it was scary to see those emotions on such a powerful god's face. She scooted toward the sleeping god and realized that he was the source of heat in the room.

Her mouth opened slightly as it dawned on her. When she would have nightmares of the red room, she was told that she clutched her gun in her sleep and had been known to even remove the safety without ever waking up. She had seen Clint reach for his bow in his sleep. When he didn't find it, he would sometimes begin to fight. It only made sense that Loki would cling to his magic during his nightmares.

Without making any sudden movements, she slid her hand forward and held his forearm. She slowly made her way up to his face. She would sometimes caress Clint's face when he had nightmares, thankfully it was also helping the sleeping god. Though Loki's face was still contorted into pain.

She began humming an old Russian lullaby; the only one she knew. It was a song she had heard a mother sing to her children before they went to sleep. She had listened to the woman's soft voice as she perched on the rooftop waiting for her mark.

Loki's face became less tense at her voice. After the first verse the room had cooled considerably. She continued to hum. Words slipped out then, though she knew they were Russian and he wouldn't understand even if he was awake.

"You will look like a hero

And be a Cossack deep in your heart.

I will accompany you and watch you go,

You will just wave your hand.

How many secret bitter tears

Will I shed that night!

Sleep, my angel, calmly, sweetly,

Bayushki bayu."

She smiled when she saw that Loki was no longer tense or looked in pain.

"For a cold blooded killer," Loki smirked without opening his eyes. "You sing pretty well."

Natasha scowled, "how long have you been awake?"

Loki shrugged. "You were singing."

"I wasn't singing that long," she muttered.

"What's a Cossack?" Loki opened his eyes.

Natasha raised a brow. An entire song of Russian and he asks about one word, not the entirety. "You understood that didn't you?"

Loki smirked and was immediately hit with a pillow. "Tasha's singing me love songs in my sleep."

"It's a lullaby for a child, and you were trying to burn the room down," Natasha scowled. "Quit calling me Tasha."

Loki looked surprised when she mentioned burning the room down but he honed in on the 'Tasha' part. "But you are Tasha."

Natasha glared at him. "I was not singing you love songs. And it's Natasha."

Loki smirked and wrapped the woman into a hug. "Tasha's love song."

Natasha wriggled against the god who suddenly was latched to her. She elbowed him in the gut, sprung free and whirled around to tell him he had lost his mind.

Loki was, on the other hand, clutching his sides as he howled with laughter. He was speaking in Norse (or so she assumed) and she was only able to pick up a few words between his laughter: 'andvarða' and 'ótti'.

"What in the hell are you laughing at," She scowled.

"I had to get you back for the spider," Loki managed between laughter.

Natasha looked at him in confusion.

"The only thing I knew you were afraid of was that you fear commitment," he dodged the book she tossed at him. Which only set the god off into more laughter.

"You are probably a bigger commit-a-phobe than I am you dumbass," She crossed her arms.

Loki smirked at her. He was not going to mention how that particular position of her arms crossed and her defiant spread out stance was extremely sexy when she was naked. "Commit-a phobe….I like that term."

"You would," Natasha rolled her eyes.

Loki glanced at the clock, "I have to run."

"Oh sure fuck me, try to burn down my room, and then leave." Natasha smirked.

"You wish for me to stay and cuddle?" Loki smirked.

"Get the hell out," Natasha rolled her eyes but smiled.

* * *

It was a good day. Ten days left until an amazing battle and she was pumped for it. Natasha smiled. Better yet was that she wasn't antsy because she had a fun toy to play with until she couldn't feel her toes. She could almost skip.

She smiled and nodded at Director Fury as he came into her line of sight. "Good afternoon." She nodded to him.  
"Come with me," he ordered.

Natasha turned on her heel and followed the director. He was heading down the hall quickly. It was no surprise. He had been wringing his hands like crazy the past two days which was a sign of him being antsy as the large battle approached. She knew he didn't feel as prepared as he would like to be.

She entered the lab behind Fury and saw both Stark and Banner's heads go up. They seemed exceptionally surprised to see her.

"Stark and Banner have been making an interesting program that I thought you should see," Fury held his hands behind his back. "It's something that is supposed to tell us when Thanos is coming."

"Is he coming sooner?" Natasha frowned. She was starting to feel uneasy. The whole room felt uneasy. Tony looked almost livid and Banner looked like he was ready to bolt.

"Stark, turn it on." Fury ordered.

Tony paused, "you know it may be-"

"Turn. It. On." Fury barked.

Natasha turned to see a blue diagram up on the wall. There were black lines outlining the buildings. "It's all of Manhattan," she stated.

"People show up on this program as shades of white against the blue. The stronger the magic, the brighter the light." Fury crossed behind her.

Natasha felt a sense of dread. "You can see every type of magic in this?"

Fury snagged the tablet out of Stark's hand. Tony looked to Bruce but Bruce held up his hands as if to say 'what can we do?'

The image changed to show exactly where she stood now. Natasha raised her hand and she saw the smaller light move its hand. "You can't tell who is who though."

"I can tell who Loki is," Fury moved the toggle to show Loki in his room. He was almost completely white and the area around him was bright as well. "Performing magic yet again."

Natasha stared at the screen. You could tell what he was doing so easily. There was a deep sinking inside of her.

"Then again, he does more than that doesn't he?"

Fury was now looking at her, but she just stared at the screen.

"There's a playback feature if you are interested," Fury held the tablet out to her.

"I think now would be a good time to go," Bruce muttered. He quickly made his way out of the room but Tony began working on a few alteration to his forearm of his suit.

Natasha continued to stare at the screen without moving.

Fury tossed the tablet onto the nearest table.

"Please don't break my stuff," Tony glared at Fury.

"Why?" Fury turned from Stark to Natasha.

Natasha remained silent.

"Judging by the looks on Stark's and Banner's face when I found out, I'm going to assume this has been going on for some time."  
"Assumption makes an ass out of 'u' and 'me,'" Tony remarked.

"It is nothing," Natasha stated.

"Nothing?" Fury raised his good brow. "This monster has been able to infiltrate some of our greatest minds within mere seconds. You have been alone with him for long periods of time. You don't think he might be trying to do the same thing?"

"He doesn't have the mind gem," Natasha told him.

"The mind gem?" Fury frowned. "His spear?"

"He no longer has it," Natasha stated.

"But he has more magic than Manhattan put together," Fury pointed to the screen. "He can turn into dragons, change his shape into other-specific-people, change elements around him, create portals to other dimensions, talk to people in their heads, and he's a hell of a liar."

"He wasn't trying to get into my mind," Natasha frowned but didn't dare look at Fury.

"Just your pants?" Fury asked.

Natasha turned her gaze on him and glared. Fury pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply.

"Because he is a known threat. Because he has controlled people easily before. And because you have spent so much time alone with him you are hereby suspended from SHIELD."

Natasha's mouth opened to argue but Fury held up his hand.

"After we are sure that you are no longer under his control-"  
"I am not under anyone's control."

"You will be reinstated," Fury finished.

"I am still fighting," Natasha stated.

"Be that as it may," Fury told her, "you will receive no further communication from SHIELD and none of your passwords will work until you are reinstated."

Natasha glared at him, "I am not under his control." She turned on her heel and left.

* * *

Natasha shut her door and was about to sink into it when she saw the god of mischief sitting on her bed. He was twirling a necklace on his finger.

"I got you a gift," Loki smirked. He stopped twirling the necklace and tossed it at her.

Natasha caught it out of reflex and then looked down. It was a thin gold chain that held a crystal. The crystal itself had swirls of green and several red flecks in it. "I don't want this."

"I thought all girls liked pretty things," Loki grinned. It fell when Natasha looked at him angrily. He looked at it and then her and immediately rolled his eyes. "It's not jewelry. Not _commit-a-phobe_ joke stuff. It's an amulet."

"Amulet?" Natasha eyed the crystal. It was small, about the size of a nickel.

Loki stood up and made his way to Natasha. "It makes you less likely to get hurt-that way I don't get punched in the nose when I heal you."

Natasha stared at it and then shoved it into Loki's hands, "I don't want it."

Loki blinked as Natasha walked right past him. "You are aware that earlier was a joke, right?" He frowned at the crystal as if it offended him and not her. "It's actually something that is really sought after for a battle."

"Then give it to someone else," Natasha told him.

Loki frowned. "It doesn't work on anyone else." He tried to make out the emotion on her face. Natasha was good at hiding emotions so it was hard to decipher. "I borrowed some of you hair-"

"My hair?" Natasha whirled around.

"It was on my pillow," Loki waved his hand dismissively. "I took it so the crystal would only work for you. I don't exactly want to make Thanos harder to kill."

"So, I will be crazy strong?" Natasha smiled. "Or will I just have some of your power?"

Loki knew that a smile from Natasha was bad news. That pretty smile was reserved for people on her shit list and he really wanted to know how he got on it. "It works for 24 hours. It's magic I gave up that will heal you more quickly and make you harder to hurt. Strength amulets are really hard to make and generally end up being rather useless."

"I don't want _your _magic," Natasha picked up her phone. She tried to message Steve.

Loki's brow rose and he felt even more irritation toward the small woman, "_MY_ magic is the best. People generally would kill for something like this." The lights flickered near him as he felt rage because his magic was being questioned.

Natasha didn't notice. What she noticed is that her phone wasn't working. She couldn't dial any of the Avengers. Her email was asking for passwords because she had already been locked out. She ran through her contacts to see if she could contact anyone when suddenly a large box appeared asking for her password.

She looked up to see Loki extremely pissed about something and she noted he was still holding the damn necklace. "I don't want your stupid necklace. I don't want anything to do with you or your monster magic!" She flung the phone to the wall and it shattered. She felt a stinging behind her eyes she knew to be tears. She had essentially ruined everything in one stupid decision.

She took a deep shuddering breath and looked back to Loki and she felt every hair on her body stand on end. Loki was no longer angry; he was completely impassive. He looked as if she might have just told him about the weather. But she didn't. She had just referred to his magic as monster magic; essentially calling him a monster.

He walked to her. Natasha eyed him as he stopped in front of her. "It doesn't work on anyone else." He shoved the crystal back into her hand. He then walked right out the door and shut it softly behind him.

Natasha looked down at the crystal and then back at the door.

* * *

Bruce fidgeted with some of the supplies.

"Stop that," Tony swatted his hand away.

"Why did you stay?" Bruce picked up a pencil and played with it. It was obvious he was antsy but his watch had not beeped to warn them of scary heart rate levels.

"Wanted to make sure they didn't destroy the program," Tony told him. "Also wanted to see if it was a ruse."

"A ruse?" Bruce asked.

"They find out we know and they pretend like it's a big deal so no one talks about it," Tony shrugged and bent down to work on his project. "I don't think that's the case and I think it would be best to not be anywhere near Natasha."

Bruce picked up the tablet, it had a minor alert on it. It was an indication that Loki was on the high end of his range. He turned off the alerts temporarily so not to startle Tony when Loki went past the range. He then noticed that Loki was in Natasha's room. "That's weird."

"What?" Tony said without looking up.

Bruce blinked as he watched Loki walk out of Natasha's room, "he was in her room. Could Natasha really be under his-" Loki turned white. Then the white aura shot from him and expanded throughout the tower. As soon as this happened, Bruce felt his entire body tingle and then it was gone.

"Did everything just tingle or did I shock myself again," Tony looked up from his work.

"We should run." Bruce dropped the tablet onto the counter. The tower had gone back to their normal color but Loki's form was completely white.

"What?" Tony looked and saw Loki heading to his room. "He's going to his room."

"He talked to Natasha, that tingling was a blast from his magic." Bruce's watch beeped. "He's mad."

"Would you calm down if we went somewhere else?" Tony asked.

Bruce nodded as he tried to take deep breaths.

Tony quickly grabbed the tablet and headed out of the lab. It was time for more food anyway.

* * *

Thanos sat himself down on his darkened throne. He smirked to himself. Everything was perfection. In ten days he would lay waste to all the 9 realms. The Asgardians may be able to take out his Chitaurian army, but they would be exhausted by the time they reached his hands. They would die quickly.

A loud scream of tortured pain echoed to him from the chambers below. _Or slowly._

Thanos grabbed his chalice and went to take a drink. He paused with the drink half-way raised.

"Miss me?" Loki smirked from the wall.

Thanos eyed the sorcerer. "You are not here."

"No," Loki chuckled. "And in ten days, you won't be either." He looked around the dark hall. "You will be where I am."

"Hiding where they would least expect you," Thanos set down his chalice. He tried to not show that seeing the sorcerer alive unnerved him.

Loki looked at him, "they already know I'm there." He pushed himself off of the wall. "I assume you mean the 'Avengers' when you say 'they'."

Thanos eyed Loki as the god walked closer.

"They know I am there. They know that I am powerful. They know that you want me dead. And…they know that I can easily kill your army." Loki paused five feet from Thanos.

Thanos sneered at Loki. He should have known. The way his ship had gone down was unnatural. He had felt a prickle of fear then and sent spies to look for anything 'unusual' but they had found nothing.

"They also know that I lie," Loki chuckled. "And yet they _trust_ a monster such as myself."

Thanos tilted his head in question.

"They have 50/50 chance on winning with me on their side." Loki frowned. "Horrible odds really. We're not the underdog that will rise above to smash you nor are we towering giants come to slaughter you. I disdain even odds."

"You wish to change them," Thanos commented.

"Well, yes." Loki nodded. "I want them remarkable. I want to know that I am going to win." He began to pace. "But the only way to do that, is to help you."

"Why would I accept your help?" Thanos growled.

Loki paused and slid his eyes to him. "Because I have what you want."

Thanos eyed the god whom began to smirk deviously. "The infinity gauntlet."

"I have the gauntlet and three of the stones. I know that you have the others," Loki turned to look at him.

"What do you want?" Thanos eyed him.

"Freedom," Loki stated. "I want to never see you again or be bothered by you. I want to live my life without being under your rule."

"My rule will extend everywhere," Thanos told him.

"Then leave me in the darkest shadows."

Thanos rubbed his chin as he pondered the proposition.

"The Avengers are waiting for you. They know you will be coming in ten days. They expect your war," Loki moved closer. "I will come to you and put your gauntlet together-"  
"NO!" Thanos jerked his head to Loki. "You will not be in charge of that." Thanos looked away from him. "You will keep your friends away as I put it together."

"Then when we win," Loki smirked. "I will be free."

Thanos looked at the god. "What of your brother?"

Loki rolled his eyes, "my so-called-brother will never see it coming. He wants me to return home with him. Play the good brother in my golden chains."

Thanos grabbed Loki by the neck. He knew the god could move his form away easily but he stared him down anyway. "You betray me and you will long for the days you were in my dungeon."

Loki smirked, "we are in agreement then?"

**If you want the entire song you can find it here: **** ?t=es&amp;p=1044&amp;c=157**

**I am begging for reviews here people! Though we all know that I will post anyway-but still.**

I AM


	29. Three Days

**My shortest chapter! It was required and didn't fit in the chapter before it nor the one after, so I present to you a mini-chapter.**

Natasha stared out her window. They had three days until Thanos would be here: three. She glanced over to her dresser to see the crystal that Loki had given her. It had been a week since he gave it to her and she had yelled at him and called him a monster.

The way his face went from anger to impassive had made her wonder if she would live to see the sunset. It turned out that she had worried for no reason. Loki seemed chipper the very next day. He acted like nothing had changed between them. But then again, he didn't give her those looks anymore. There were no more visits. She had told him that she didn't want anything to do with him and he took her at her word.

One week. It had only been one week since that had happened yet she already missed his fingers on her. Those fiery kisses and that damn smirk of his. She missed having him as a toy and being his toy. If she was honest with herself she might admit that she missed him.

Natasha sighed and fell back into her bed. _How long will it take Fury to clear me?_ Natasha found herself pondering on the question again and again. She had told Clint and Steve that she broke her phone and that's why they couldn't call or text her. Natasha also wondered if Fury would tell Clint why she was suspended.

_Three more days,_ she told herself. Three more days and she could fight and be done with all of this. Three more days and she would be rid of Loki and the magic. Three more days and they would save Earth.

Natasha glanced at the crystal. Three more days and she would be rid of Loki. It was a good thing. So why did it feel like such a bad thing?

* * *

Bruce paced the lab as Tony put some final touches on his suit. It had been like this for a week. Bruce had been in a state of disarray since Natasha and Fury's talk. He fully believed that Loki would take that magical energy out on them.

Tony wasn't as convinced. He had read the stories on Loki and knew him to be quite the ladies' man. Now Natasha might make him mad, but he was more likely to take it out on her than them. Maybe Fury.

"Loki's been in his room a lot," Bruce commented. "Doing magic."  
"Thor says this is how Loki prepares for battle," Tony told him.

"I just have a bad feeling is all," Bruce paused at the tablet which had the magic program running. Loki was in his room and he was glowing white.

* * *

Thor made his way to the kitchen. It was the quiet time before a battle. He disliked this time. People would overthink the battle and almost let the enemy win without even stepping on the battlefield. He paused as he noticed that his brother had ventured out of his room. The god of mischief was sitting at the table and was looking out the window to the moon.

Thor grabbed to beers out of the fridge and sat next to obviously distracted brother.

"We're going to win," Thor pulled the tops off the beer and slid one to Loki.

"Hmm?" Loki caught the beer before it slid off.

"We're going to win," Thor repeated.

"You seem so sure," Loki looked back out the window.

Thor took a drink, "I know we will."  
Loki turned to look at him.

"Because we fight together," Thor nodded to him.

Loki rolled his eyes.

"Hear me out, brother." Thor grinned. "We have fought against incredible odds and we have never lost."

"Oh, like how you managed to get an entire race of giant spiders to try to eat us," Loki took a drink.

"What about the fight in Vanaheim?" Thor suggested.

"Also your fault," Loki sighed.

"We should have died and we did not," Thor told him. "It's because we fought side by side. When you are by my side, I know we will win."

Loki looked into his brother's smiling face, "to brothers!" He held up his beer.

Thor's face erupted into a bigger grin. "To brothers!" They both raised their glasses to each other.

* * *

_It wouldn't matter. He doesn't even care. _Natasha sighed as she walked down the hall. _I was nothing more than some toy to play with. I don't need one last go. I don't need anything from him._ Natasha tried not to think about his face. He was actually angry with her. She hadn't seen him get angry with anyone like that besides Thor. Well angry like that and not attack. _Because he needs me in this fight. Possibly. _She frowned at herself. _He gave me a necklace so I wouldn't get hurt to keep me out of the way. How is that needing me? Maybe he needs me some other way. _Natasha shook the last thought from her head.

She looked up to see Loki going to his bedroom. "Loki."  
Loki paused and turned to look at her.

"I was thinking," Natasha began, "about going to the gym. I need someone stronger than Clint to fight."

"Ask Thor," Loki told her. "He tends to take it easy on Sif anyway. I'm sure you will still get a work out." He turned back to his door.

"Maybe we can work out together," Natasha told him.

Loki turned to look at the woman in the face. It was possibly as close to an apology as the Avenger could ever manage he assumed. He understood what she wanted from him. "I'm busy."

Natasha watched as Loki quickly entered his room and then shut the door. She swallowed the lump in her throat and headed back to her own room. Trying not to hope that Loki might be waiting in there. She knew she'd be disappointed if she did.

**I hope that you liked the last two chapters. I did just post them within like 30 min of each other. I still have the next two chapters written but not edited BUT I am going to have them edited-both of them-before I post either of them. Sorry, they are important to me to write them right.**

**Please Review and I will do my very best to get them out tomorrow. **


	30. Betrayed

**Oh my god. I just finished writing this story. That is right-as soon as I am done editing-I will be sending out the final chapters. I am excited and sad at the same time. Also, LovesDragons is the bestest ever because you keep reviewing and pushing me to work on these in my precious free time.**

Director Fury took a deep breath and glanced at his phone: today was the day. He looked around the room. Natasha had just arrived in her jumpsuit. Clint followed behind her with more arrows than Fury had ever seen. They headed for coffee, neither of them speaking.

Stark was sitting at the table looking absently over to the horizon. He wore casual clothes, he could get his suit easily when it came time. His eyes were dazed as he thought on previous battles with the Chitauri.

Bruce sat next to him staring down at his coffee, which was ice cold by now

Pepper, Jane, Darcy and Selvig had been sent on one of Stark's jets to his Miami Beach house. The rest of the city had been evacuated too. It was too quiet.

Fury looked over as Thor and Loki entered using the stairs.

"Didn't feel like the elevator?" Captain asked. He was sitting on the couch holding his helmet while his shield leaned up against him.

"The device stated we were too heavy," Thor frowned. He was wearing his full armor including his helmet with wings. His red cape was flowed behind him. Loki stood behind him wearing his armor and horned helmet.

"Going to say it's the armor," Clint commented.

"It is rather heavy," Thor shrugged.

Loki walked past his brother to the window. Thor eyed him, recognizing the wary look of a warrior about to enter battle. He walked up to his brother and placed his hand on Loki's shoulder.

"If you fall today, it will be with honor and bravery." Thor told him. "If such a path must be taken, let it be swift and let the Valkyries ride swiftly to you."

Loki turned to look at his brother, "may your hammer swing strong and swift."

Thor chuckled and wrapped his brother into a large hug. Loki hugged him back.

"You know," Thor pulled back. "This reminds me of the battle of the three axes."

Loki snorted and shook his head. "This is nothing like that." He glanced back to the horizon. "It reminds me of the battle of the Rock Giants."

"I disliked that battle intensely," Thor frowned.

"That's because they wouldn't electrocute."

"No, because of your little…whatever you call it," Thor gestured at Loki who began laughing.

"That doesn't sound like me at all," Loki stated. They both started laughing.

"I feel like we missed something," Clint commented.

"Probably a random Asgardian thing," Tony sighed. He jerked when he heard beeping.

"That mean what I think it means?" Fury looked to the device sitting next to Bruce.

"Time to go," Tony nodded. He rushed away to get his suit. Bruce's face got paler.

"I will get SHIELD ready," Fury left the room.

"We will go where Stark directs us," Thor told Loki, "Where will you be?"

Loki gripped Thor's right shoulder and grinned, "Where I belong."

Thor gripped his brother's hand that lay on his shoulder. "I will see you there." He watched as his brother disappeared in front of him.

* * *

Tony led the way. By the time they reached the coordinates they could see sparks coming out of a blue circular disk about five feet off the ground.

"Reminds me of the thing that Loki came out of," Clint said.

"Should we just start shooting it now?" Iron Man asked the group.

"Might not be a good idea," Bruce frowned. "Something like that might not be very stable."

Loud sparks echoed and then a beam shot forward.

"Yep, just like Loki." Clint took aim with his arrow to the large creature that came out of the beam.

The creature had dark purple skin with black armor. He was kneeling on the ground just as Loki had when he first came out of the portal. After a second he pulled himself upright and turned to look at the Avengers.

"Thanos," Thor stepped forward toward the creature. "Turn back now and you will receive no harm."

Thanos jerked his hand to the portal, the blue disk moved higher into the sky. "I doubt you could cause much harm." Sparks emitted from the disk that was now above the buildings around them. Then ships erupted from the portal.

"You will not win this fight," Thor held his hammer out. Electricity began to spark at the end of it as he concentrated his energy into it.

"I think I will," Thanos smirked. "After all, I do have the upper hand." He looked over to his left and Loki's form shifted into view.

"Brother!" Thor lowered his hammer and stared at him in disbelief.

"I've come to realize something," Loki smirked deviously. He turned his gaze to Natasha. "I _am_ the monster parents tell their children about at night."

"This isn't you brother!" Thor took another step forward.

"What betraying everyone for my own selfish gain?" Loki blinked. "That doesn't sound like me at all."

Thor opened his mouth to say something but closed it instead. He jerked his head as a roar sounded and the Hulk rushed Thanos and Loki. The beast was stopped by an invisible wall.

"Quite the creature," Thanos commented.

Loki stared into the snarling Hulk's face. "I told you we would need the shield."

"Give it to me," Thanos ordered.

Loki grabbed his bag off of his hip and pulled out the infinity gauntlet.

"Loki," Thor stared at the item. "What have you done?"

"What I had to," Loki said simply. Thanos took the gauntlet from him. He eyed it for a moment and ran his fingers down it saying a few words. Nothing happened.

"Can't be too careful," Thanos smirked at the sorcerer. Loki merely shrugged. The gauntlet rose above them and three more stones joined the other colorful stones into the gauntlet.

"You think this will end well for you Loki?" Steve shouted. "He will turn on you the second he can. He's just using you."

"As if I'm not used to that?" Loki tilted his head to look at Natasha. Natasha glared at him as Clint gave her a questioning look.

Thanos inspected his new gauntlet, "kill them."

Loki turned to look at Thanos. "Our agreement-"

"Does not start until after my war," Thanos smirked.

Loki frowned at him. He turned and tossed his hand out to the Avengers. Each of them flew backwards. Loki let the shield fall and jumped toward Captain America.

Thor raced for Thanos and was immediately thrown backward by a punch from the gauntlet. Natasha shot several of the super bullets that Fury had given her at Thanos. The creature turned his gaze onto her.

Loki dodged the shield and whirled right past the Iron Man's blast. The blast hit the shield and sent the three of them backward. Hulk roared and Loki saw it attack Thanos. Thanos sent the green monster flying several miles down the road. He then lifted his hand and sent a blast after the Hulk; leveling an entire building.

Captain rushed for Loki, but blasts began hitting all around him from Chitaurian ships above. He ran for cover as the SHIELD ships came to his rescue. Thanos raised his gauntlet and a car soared into one of the SHIELD ships making it explode. Iron man looked up and blasted into the air. He zoomed upward toward the Chitaurian ships.

When shooting at the creature didn't work, Natasha began shooting at the gauntlet instead. Clint had already run backward as he tried to find a weak point on the creature. He noticed too late that Thanos was heading straight for Natasha. Thanos easily swatted the archer's arrow away as he raised the gauntlet at Natasha.

"STOP!" Loki roared.

Thanos blinked and turned to see the Asgardian behind him. He narrowed his eyes at Loki; he wanted an explanation.

"I want her to suffer," Loki growled. He glared at the redhead in question.

Natasha turned her gun on Loki and went to pull the trigger. She was thrown backward into a building before she could.

Thanos smirked and turned to Loki. "She will live." Thanos laughed and began shooting energy blasts at several of the nearby buildings. He began to heading down the streets toward the center of the city. Loki quickly followed Thanos.

* * *

Iron Man took down a few of the Chitaurian ships near him. His attention was diverted when he heard explosions from the ground. Thanos was blowing up buildings as he walked quickly toward the center of the city. Tony flew forward and began to shoot energy blasts at Loki and Thanos. Loki looked up at him in anger and held his hand out when Thanos raised his gauntlet. Loki smirked and his form shifted into Tony Stark's.

"Sir, Tony Stark is in danger with that course of action," Jarvis stated.

"That is not me! Shoot!" Tony yelled.

"I cannot shoot. Tony Stark has given me the order to never shoot himself," Jarvis stated.

"That's NOT me!" Tony screamed as he flew past the two.

Loki smirked as he watched Tony fly past without shooting them. He turned to look at Thanos, who seemed somewhat irritated in not getting to blow the man out of the sky. Loki shrugged and sent a fire blast to the closest building; it went up in flames quickly. Loki then began to set fire to everything in sight. He whirled around just in time to catch Clint's arrow which he promptly turned into an ice cream cone. Loki smirked at the archer who quickly darted away.

Thanos turned when he heard the roar of the green monster heading their way.

* * *

Thor flew toward the battle. He grimaced at the pulsating side of his face. Thanos had definitely used the power stone to make himself much stronger.

"THOR!" Iron man flew up next to him.

"Where is Thanos," Thor demanded as they flew. He looked down to the ground.

"Thanos is not the problem," Tony yelled. "Loki has messed with Jarvis. I cannot shoot at him. He knows our moves, how we fight and he is playing against us."

Thor said nothing.

"We need your help to get Loki out of the way," Tony yelled to him. He looked forward to see Thanos and Loki.

Thor immediately drifted to the right with every intent to take on Thanos.

"THOR!" Tony yelled at the Asgardian.

Thanos was flung backward by a large lightning bolt. Loki turned to see his brother fly past him toward Thanos. Almost immediately he was also flung backward as he was tackled by the Hulk. Loki yelled as he was flung into the street numerous times. Loki sent an energy blast at the Hulk and was able to remove himself from his grasp. He made twenty copies of himself and began to laugh at the Hulk.

"You missed!" The Lokis laughed as Hulk tried to smash one. It disappeared under his fist.

The hulk roared as it began smashing all the Lokis it could see. Every Loki he tried to smash disappeared as his fist came down. It roared even louder as the Lokis laughed and taunted him.

* * *

"Not very smart is he?" Clint watched the Lokis taunting Hulk.

Natasha didn't answer. She was still leaning against the building she was flung into. The top of her jumpsuit was torn.

"He's making the Hulk angrier, which is only going to make him stronger," Clint frowned and looked at Natasha. "What do you think he's up to?" He tilted his head as he noticed she was wearing a different necklace. It was a green crystal of some kind.

"I couldn't shoot him," Natasha frowned.

"You were flung into a building while you were trying to shoot," Clint frowned. "It happens."

Natasha frowned. That wasn't the reason she couldn't shoot him. She had him in her sight, she was angry enough, she just didn't take the shot.

* * *

Thanos slammed the thunder god to the ground. Thor gasped for air as he felt one of his ribs break. Thanos raised his gauntlet up but was hit with several energy blasts. Thanos roared and turned to see golden ships flying through the air.

"Saved by Father," Thanos chuckled. "Not for long." He raised the gauntlet up and caused one of the ships to fly into another. They both spun out of control and crashed to the ground.

Thor took this opportunity to roll away and then fly. He quickly made his way several buildings over so that he could inspect his wound and rethink his tactics.

Thanos stomped his way toward Loki who was still taunting the Hulk, "Quit playing and kill them!"

The Lokis smirked, "Where's the fun in that?" A single Loki appeared next to Thanos and the rest of them disappeared. The Hulk turned to see only one Loki and quickly rushed them. The two sorcerer's put up another shield. They turned as they heard an explosion behind them.

"Man of Iron thought he had caught us off guard," Loki mused. He watched as the Iron man flew behind the Hulk who was attempting to tear down the invisible shield.

"He is quite the angry creature," Thanos mused.

"The angrier he gets, the stronger he gets," Loki told him.

"An army of him would be something to have," Thanos grinned.

"He's the only one of his kind," Loki told him.

"I think I found a new pet," Thanos smirked at the raging monster.  
"He can't be controlled," Loki shook his head. "He is a mindless beast in this form."

Thanos raised his gauntlet and smirked, "I have all the power of the realms in my hand."

Thanos raised his hand and Hulk flew backward, almost into the Man of Iron. The beast jumped up and roared at the two sorcerers. Thanos smirked and clenched his fist while turning it. The hulk became rigid.

Thanos felt the beast's mind come under his control. He laughed triumphantly at the creature that was now to do his bidding.

Thanos' laughter became a grunt of pain. His hand became filled with excruciating pain as he tried to control the large creature. The pain became more unbearable and Thanos fell to his knees. He gripped the gauntlet that was adjoined to his hand: it wouldn't come off. His hand was in complete agony.

Thanos turned to look at Loki who was staring out to the green beast in front of him. The Asgardian had not reacted to Thanos' obvious pain.

"What did you do?" Thanos gasped in pain.

Loki looked down at the horrible creature, "I told you, I didn't want to be under your rule."

***evil smirk***

**Please review.**


	31. Triple Cross

**Sorry, I thought I had posted this! I just sat down to fix the ending and was like 'why is it only showing 30 chapters?' So, OOOPS!**

Tony knew that they had put the shield up again. He knew that his suit could blast it till the end of time, which might very well be within the next ten minutes, and it still wouldn't do anything.

Then that horrible creature raised his gauntlet and sent the Hulk nearly flying into Tony. The Hulk quickly regained his feet and roared loudly. Tony turned to look at the two sorcerers. Why would they do this? Why would they make him angrier? It would only make him stronger.

When the Hulk became rigid, Tony felt his blood run cold. He could see the Hulk's eyes turning ice blue. The same blue that Clint's had become when he was under Loki's control. Tony raised his hand to blast at the two sorcerer's; shield or no shield.

He aimed straight for Loki. The system targeted him easily and honed in on the god. Tony paused. Loki wasn't laughing like Thanos was. He was just staring out into the horizon. He didn't move, not even when Thanos gripped the gauntlet and fell down in pain. Tony blinked as he watched Thanos look up to Loki in confusion. Loki turned to Thanos without a single emotion.

He could see Loki speaking but had no idea what was said. Thanos' face contorted into rage and within seconds Loki was smashed up against the wall of the shield. Tony could hear the clang of his helmet echoing. Thanos gripped Loki's throat and smashed him against the wall again. Tony grimaced as he heard the loud clangs echoing over and over again as the creature slammed his head repeatedly. Even with that helmet on, Loki had to be taking a lot of damage.

Then he heard a smash. He watched as Thanos pulled Loki back and Loki's helmet fell off into two pieces. Thanos smashed Loki back against the shield wall making a sickening crack. The Asgardian slid down the invisible wall and blood trailed after him. _He's going to be killed._ Tony looked over to the Hulk who was clutching his head. He growled and shook his head as he regained control of his own mind.

* * *

Loki slid to the ground. He could see Thanos standing above him. His head was pounding and it was hard to move. Thanos was screaming at him. Loki couldn't make out the words. All he noticed was the fact that the giant green beast was running straight for them.

Loki concentrated through the pounding in his skull. The shield faded, but Thanos didn't notice. Thanos was now lowering his boot onto Loki's chest and adding more and more pressure.

The Hulk raced forward and leapt at the purple creature. Thanos, distracted by Loki, was tackled to the ground like a ragdoll.

The second Loki was free, he rolled to his feet. His head was throbbing and he could feel blood dripping down from his skull but he knew better than sticking this close to Thanos. Loki forced one foot after another. For a Midgardian it would be considered a decent run, but it was slow to him. Loki kept his head turned. He could see Hulk pummeling Thanos. He knew that wasn't going to last once Thanos lifted that gauntlet. Loki needed to hide and heal himself before his next course of action.

Loki skidded to a stop when Iron man stepped in front of him with his arm raised. The blasters were ready to fire. The blast would hurt like hell, especially with his skull already damaged. Loki stared at the face plate and waited for what would come.

After a moment Iron Man tilted his head in question.

Loki stared down those eye slits, "run." With that he took off to his left.

Tony watched him run away. He turned to look back at Thanos and saw the Hulk being hurled in the opposite direction. "Let's go Jarvis. He's up to something."

* * *

Natasha looked at the skies above; it was a horrible battle. Most of the ships were being vaporized in the air but occasionally pieces would rain down on them. Some of the ships had become damaged and had landed. The Chitauri that had landed took the opportunity to attack the Avengers. Steve was several yards away taking on a larger Chitauri. Clint had raced away a few minutes before so that he could find a high point.

Natasha saw Steve make the finishing blow before she headed around the building. She could hear the roar of Hulk somewhere in the distance, but it was hard to place with all the airships above.

Natasha whirled around as she heard someone running in their direction. Natasha's eyes widened as she recognized the god. His helmet was missing, blood was dripping into his face and he seemed exhausted. Loki stopped dead when he saw her pointing her gun at him. Immediately his eyes darted to where she knew her necklace was hanging out. He almost seemed relieved.

Natasha's finger tightened on the trigger. If he was already injured then this shot might knock him out.

"Tasha-"

Natasha threw her arm out to protect her face from the blast. She had barely seen Clint's arrow before it hit. She looked over to where the arrow had come from and saw Clint perched with another arrow. Natasha jerked her head back to see where Loki had been and she saw that he was gone.

She almost sighed in relief. For the first time in a long time she found herself hesitating to pull a trigger. The last time she had done that was with Clint right before she joined the Americans. Before that was when she was almost forced to kill Alexei. Natasha leaned against the building as a blast sounded above them. Seconds later, debris came down in fiery bits.

* * *

Loki perched on top of a building and watched the mayhem on the ground below. There was plenty above him at the moment, but the battle below was what really mattered. Hulk was rushing toward Thanos and being thrown back constantly. Thor was fighting alongside the beast using both his hammer and large amounts of lightning. He was not dealing near enough damage though. But that wasn't the point.

Loki concentrated hard as he held his hand to the back of his skull. It was really hard to think straight when your brain wanted to come sliding out. Loki looked back up to the fight and grinned evilly: Thanos had just raised his gauntlet at Thor. Thor became rigid for a moment and then Thanos hit his knees while holding the gauntlet.

Loki smirked at the stupid bastard. Thanos had taken the time to check the gauntlet but not the gems. There was no way that Loki was leaving the mind gem intact for Thanos. He'd rather not be under anyone's control again. Loki smirked as Thanos was knocked backward. _Less than five minutes._ Loki took a deep shuddering breath. The spell worked faster if the item in question was used more. Soon there would be a portal sucking everything into an even darker pit than which Thanos had emerged. In five minutes all that would be left would be the gauntlet.

Loki turned his head to see Natasha battling with Steve against several Chitauri. Steve was knocked into the nearest building. He quickly looked for Clint who was scanning the skies. Loki pulled himself out of view a bit more.

"Admiring your handiwork?" Stark asked from behind him.

"A bit," Loki smirked, he continued to look at the mayhem below. He noticed that Natasha had blood dripping down the side of her face.

"Give me one good reason not to blast you off this roof right now," Stark held up his hand and Loki could hear it charging up.

"Stay away from Thanos," Loki stated.

"Is that a threat?" Stark took a step forward.

"A warning," Loki turned his head to look at him. "I have no doubt in my mind that Thor can outrun a portal with the wind on his side. But you may not be able to."

"Portal?" Stark tilted his head. "What portal?"

Loki wasn't listening. He was looking down to see that Thor had been thrown through a building and Hulk was nowhere to be found. Thanos was now clawing at the gauntlet itself. It couldn't be removed because the portal had already been opened and had already sucked in part of his hand. That wasn't the problem; the problem was once Thanos figured that out he might chop his arm off and save himself.

Loki jumped off the roof. He used his boots to run down the side of the building and then jump to a closer, shorter building. He grabbed a dagger out of his coat and aimed straight for Thanos' helmet. The creature roared as it clanged off the superior metal. Loki attempted to look surprised that he had not hit flesh.

He didn't need to hit flesh. He needed to distract. If he had hit flesh then Thanos would get angrier and possibly kill him with a simple swipe of the damned gauntlet. With the distraction, Loki could use up the final minutes and save his own ass.

Thanos charged for Loki. Loki turned and ran to the edge of the building. He leapt to the next building and then to the building next to it before running down the side. _A little over three minutes._ Loki's feet hit the ground and he dared to look over his shoulder: nothing. Loki slowed and looked around him: nothing. Either Thanos was trying to sneak up on him or he had lost Thanos in the run.

Loki was flung back into the nearest building.

"I have had enough-" Thanos growled as he made his way to the god of mischief. "of your games."

_Or he's actually hurt and taking his time._ Loki grimaced as he tried to move away from the building's wall. Thanos had tapped into all the power he could possibly. But Loki had a feeling that Thanos may have focused on physical and not magical power.

"Get rid of the spell," Thanos growled. He slammed the gauntlet into Loki's stomach. "NOW!"

Loki laughed maniacally.

Thanos slammed the gauntlet into Loki's chest. "NOW!"

"No," Loki breathed. He was pretty sure a rib or two had been broken with that punch.

Thanos pointed the fingers of the gauntlet and shoved it into Loki's stomach. Loki threw his head back as he bit back a scream.

"Not to worry," Thanos smirked. "I didn't hit anything too important. You will live long enough to be healed. So that-" Thanos twisted the gauntlet inside Loki. "-if you don't take the spell off, I will drag you down with me and take a personal interest in your well-being."

Loki groaned as he felt organs getting pushed aside. He gasped as he felt excruciating pain. The god shoved his hand up against the larger creature's face in attempt to push him away before he ruptured anymore organs. Thanos growled and bit down on the god's fingers. Loki yelled loudly as the brute spit two of his fingers onto the ground.

Thanos growled and Loki's blood ran from his mouth, "take the spell off!"

Loki breathed heavily for a few seconds before looking up and smirking. "It doesn't come off."

_Crack._ Loki heard the noise and suddenly he couldn't breathe. Thanos' left forearm was slammed up against Loki's chest. He growled and pulled it away. Loki tried to take a breath but even without Thanos' forearm in place he couldn't.

Loki gripped his own chest. His ribs were broken and one of the broken ribs had shoved right into his lung. Loki tried his best to concentrate on the lung itself. He had barely healed the lung before Thanos grabbed him by the throat. Loki winced, he had yet to heal the ribs and one of them was just waiting to puncture his lung again.

Thanos stared into his eyes, "You think I would let you die that easily?"

"I could only hope," Loki smirked through the pain. He shoved out both hands and Thanos was thrown back by the force of Loki's magic. Loki turned and ran up the building. It was much more difficult with that rib pushing against his lung.

He didn't look back when he heard smashing at the base of the building. Loki could feel the whole building trembling beneath his feet. Then it started to lean toward him. _He's taking the whole damn thing down!_ Loki jumped into the closest window and began to run up the incline that was the floor. He darted from room to room as he tried to find the other side of the building. It was easy to bust down the flimsy Midgardian doors with their simple locks.

The building was falling quickly and Loki leapt out the window. He was able to run on the side with ease, even without the magic in his boots. He leapt onto a nearby building and jumped in the window. He quickly made his way through that building. He searched for a window that would allow him to jump to another nearby building. He made a dash out the window and leapt into a building close by. _Good thing Midgardians build these close together._

Loki dashed into the building and silently made his way to the center. He wasn't trying to make his presence known. His magic easily undid locks and Loki was sure to shut the doors behind him. It was dark in the middle of the building. _The 'electricity' must be gone again, _Loki mused_. _He slid against the wall into a sitting position. He gripped his right hand as he concentrated on the blood pouring from the stubs that was his ring finger and pinky. It hurt like hell but he could fix it. It would take forever and he needed to find his damn fingers, but he could fix it.

The blood stopped flowing as profusely when Loki concentrated on the stubs. Soon the flow stopped and he was able to cauterize the wound. He was starting to feel light headed. He wasn't sure if it was from the blood loss or the head trauma. Loki gripped the back of his skull with his left hand and tried to concentrate on the wound itself. Loki nearly yelled in frustration. It was hard to concentrate because of the wound, which would be gone if he could concentrate.

Loki coughed a few times, which only made his head hurt worse. He tried to think. _Should be a minute or so left._ He couldn't remember exactly how long he had left. The gauntlet had to have opened up enough to suck in Thanos' arm. If he was lucky enough, he had distracted Thanos long enough to keep him from sawing off his own arm or something.

Loki coughed again and had to wipe blood off of his mouth. He was in bad shape, but if he could just sit still and concentrate a bit longer then he could fix it. Loki coughed again, and caught the blood in his hand again. He stared at it. He was expecting the blood. After all he did just puncture his lung a few minutes ago. The blood needed to go somewhere. Loki coughed again and he looked around as well as he could. There was light coming from underneath a door down the hall.

Loki pulled himself up. That was not sunlight.

He coughed again and headed for the door. He knew a fire when he saw one. _Bastard is trying to smoke me out. _Loki opened the door to put out the fire. As soon as he opened the door he was hit with a wave of heat and smoke. Coughing and covering his eyes Loki took several steps back. He realized that this was not an ordinary fire. This was Fiendfyre: an extremely powerful magical fire that was hard to control when it was small; impossible when it was large. It burned through everything, including Asgardian flesh.

Loki took off in the other direction. He opened the first door that he could find, nearly ripping the door handle off, and he was greeted by even more fire. Loki coughed into his elbow and backed up. The entire hallway was starting to heat up to exponential levels. He could hear the crackle of the flames and the sound of the floor trying to give way. Loki darted to another door and burst it down. He was greeted with more fire. Loki yelled as his arm caught fire and he tried to put it out. The fire was beyond control. It seared his flesh and burned off a good portion of his left sleeve before he could make the flames die down. Loki darted through the apartment and tried to find a room with a window. He went to knock the door down but it came down right before he tackled it. Loki crashed to the floor and gritted his teeth as flames licked more of his flesh. He heard glass shattering and he looked up to see a broken window. Loki pulled himself up and ran for the window. He could smell his flesh burning as he ran through the apartment. He jumped through the fire that was in front of the window and made his way out the window. He started running down the building. He concentrated on getting the flames off of him as he sped down.

Loki heard the roar a split second before he was thrown off the building. The floor he was running past had just exploded. He was flung helplessly to the streets. Loki flipped through the air quickly, unable to right himself or figure out where the ground was.

Then everything was black.

* * *

Thanos glanced up to see the entire building up in flames. He looked back down and began tearing at his own flesh. If he could just remove the arm he may have the power to make himself a new one with the gauntlet; assuming the gauntlet was not sucked into the portal as well. Thanos yelled in frustration and pulled a blade out. He cursed from the pain as it sliced through the skin above the gauntlet. The knife was torn from his hand and disappeared into the gauntlet.

Thanos pulled another blade from his belt and started hacking at his upper arm. The blade was small and it was making the process that much more painful. He growled as he dug the blade further into his upper arm. He was thrown backward by a bolt of lightning.

Thor flew down and landed in front of Thanos. He wasn't sure what the creature was up to but he was not going to allow him to do it.

Thanos yelled and flung his gauntlet out, making the god fly backward into a building. He was immediately hit by several explosives.

Stark kept his arm out ready to send more explosives at Thanos. He stayed above the street as he waited to see what Thanos would do. Loki had mentioned a portal, but Stark had yet to see it. He watched as Hulk raced for Thanos. Thanos used the gauntlet to overturn the beast.

Thor erupted from the building and sent another lightning bolt to Thanos which made Thanos fall to his knees. Tony raised his hand to send more blasts but stopped. Thanos' gauntlet was glowing blue from the inside and Thanos was yelling and trying to pull away from it.

"Banner, stay away!" Thor turned to see Hulk running for Thanos. He sent Mjolnir into Hulk's stomach making the beast fly backward. He recognized what was happening and he was not going to allow his friend to be sucked into that.

Tony watched as Thanos was slowly pulled into the blue that was coming from the gauntlet. The creature screamed in agony as his arm disappeared, and was then pulled further into the portal. It sucked in his shoulder, then his head and other shoulder. The Portal pulled in surrounding debris as it sucked in the rest of the purple creature. After a minute the empty gauntlet fell to the ground.

**My Dad is visiting, so someone remind me to work on the next chapter and post it. **


	32. Fear of the Valkyries

**Thank you LovesDragons for the reminder and the review! Thank you magentarosegallifrey for the review! It made me so happy to get them!**

Natasha shot her guns at the advancing Chitauri. Many of them went down easily. A lot easier than they had been going down. She reloaded and took the three Chitauri on her left out.

"Is it just me," Steve threw his shield out and knocked over several Chituaris, "Or did this just get a heck of a lot easier?"

They turned as they heard an explosion. Clint looked down from his perch, "They're going down easily."

"Why?" Steve looked up and saw that the golden ships and Shield ships were fighting off the last of the Chitaurian ships. Many of the Asgardians had joined the Chitauri on the ground and were fighting with swords, axes and some magic. It was evident that the Chitauri were losing.

Steve frowned, "Loki once said that the army was stronger because of Thanos' magic. Maybe he's using his magic for something else."

"Maybe he's dead," Clint looked toward the center of the city.

* * *

Tony shot down one of the few Chitauri ships left. He looked around and saw that Hulk was taking out a lot of the remaining Chitauri soldiers on the ground. The Asgardians had given him a wide berth to do such. Thor had followed the beast into battle, but Tony noticed that Thor was constantly looking over his shoulder.

"Jarvis," Tony frowned as he knew exactly what Thor was looking for. "Find Loki."

The screens in front of his face lit up and honed in on every life form it came across. None of them were of the god of mischief. Tony frowned and began flying over the debris-littered streets. He could see several buildings had been demolished. One of them had burned completely to the ground. The embers were still an unnatural bright red.

"Sir," Jarvis' voice sounded as an image of Loki beeped in front of him as well as a lit up form on the ground. Tony darted downward and landed on the ground a few feet from where Jarvis had directed him. Tony's face plate moved up and he stared at the god before him.

Tony wasn't sure he would have recognized Loki if it hadn't been for Jarvis. Loki's face was badly burned. His hair was charred. His neck was blackened from bruising. His armor was broken and much of it had been blackened or completely burned away. Blood seeped from his mouth and covered the side of his face. His right arm was covered in blood.

Stark frowned as the suit showed a bpm reading coming from the god. He recognized that the rate was low for Loki. He bent down and carefully pulled the god up and tossed him over his shoulder. He couldn't just leave him in the pile of rubble.

Stark looked around. He took off slowly and then headed for the blond god. He found him on the edge of a battlefield. The god's face was wrought with worry. Stark approached the ground in a much slower fashion than usual.

"Stark," Thor's thunderous voice boomed as the god trotted to the man of Iron. Thor frowned at what was tossed over the Iron Man's shoulder.

"One crazy brother," Stark nodded his head to the god slung over his shoulder.

Thor's eyes widened and he quickly darted behind Tony to see his brother. "You must take him to the tower. I will be along shortly," Thor flew into the air without another word.

"Well buddy, I'm going to say that you might be hurt," Stark frowned. "Enough to get your bro's panties in a twist anyway."

* * *

Natasha climbed the last of the stairs, Steve and Clint followed behind her. They had finished off the Chitauri and raced back to the tower to get orders from Fury. Their communication devices had been knocked out by Loki's initial blast. Natasha mostly wanted to see if Fury had made it through the battle. Many of the dark ships had exploded in the air and as much as the director had pissed her off, Natasha did not want to see him hurt.

The pent house was still lit up, thanks to Stark's alternative power sources. Natasha noticed that hardly any damage had occurred to the tower, though a few stray blast must have knocked out the windows.

"Jarvis, contact-" Natasha paused. She watched as Tony flew into the room. He was clutching whatever was flung across his shoulder.

"What's that?" Steve took a step forward.

Tony set the god down on the floor. Immediately Clint drew his arrow. Natasha reached for her gun but Steve jerked his head up for the explanation.

"Wait," Tony's faceplate flew upward and he held out a hand.

"He betrayed us," Clint growled, but held his arrow.

Natasha furrowed her brow, "what happened to him." She was holding the gun, but it was not pointing at the obviously immobilized god.  
"As far as I can tell," Stark looked out the window. "Thanos beat the shit out of him when he double crossed him."

"Double crossed?" Steve blinked.

Suddenly Thor and two women appeared in the middle of the room.

"He doesn't like to stay dead, does he?" The elder woman quickly made her way to Loki. The younger woman quickly followed her without saying a word.

Thor followed the women quickly. The older woman set devices next to Loki's head and feet and then one by each of his arms. She stood and pressed a device and a red silhouette of Loki's body appeared above him. Meanwhile, the younger woman was digging in a bag and removing jars and cloths.

"His fingers are missing," Thor commented.

The woman said nothing. Her eyes darted over the red silhouette. The younger woman poured some liquid onto a cloth and began wiping the god's brow. She was removing the dirt and debris to get a clearer assessment of the damage to the god's skin.

"How quickly will he heal?" Thor asked.

The older woman raised her hands and reached into the red silhouette. Threads appeared as she worked inside the body. Loki grunted on the ground below. She paused and looked down at him. The younger woman looked at her and shrugged. She had thus far removed the dirt from his face and the extent of his burns were becoming apparent. The elder woman began working again and immediately Loki made noises of pain.

Odin appeared out of thin air a few feet from them but no one seemed surprised by this. Odin quickly made his way to them.

The elder woman's eyes darted to the king but she didn't say a word. She continued to work the red threads as the younger woman cleaned the rest of the exposed skin.

"Loki pretended to be on his side," Thor told his father. "Like the battle of the Rock Giants."

Odin nodded, unsurprised by this detail

"Pretended," Clint blinked. "You'd think he'd give a little warning."

"He did," Thor told him. "_That doesn't sound like me at all._ It was what he said in that battle."

"I meant for us," Clint frowned. His bow and arrow was finally put away, but he kept a close eye on the god of mischief.

Natasha shook her head, "It wouldn't have been believable."

Loki made a loud grunt of pain and the elder woman let go of the threads. The younger woman looked up from her bag. She had been putting her supplies away and hadn't even touched the god. The older woman turned to look at Odin and Thor.

"Loki has taken a lot of damage," She began. The younger woman stood next to the elder woman.

"I've seen him have his head chopped off, he will be fine," Thor said dismissively.

Odin turned to look at his older son who blinked as he realized that his father hadn't heard that particular story. He decided to look in a different direction than explain it.

"I am sure that Loki was awake for that particular repair," the woman frowned. "Loki is unconscious. Worse yet, Loki is a strong sorcerer who has built up barriers to magic. He was fighting for his life when he was knocked unconscious and has put in place an extremely strong barrier from other magic."

"To protect himself," Thor shrugged.

"Yes," the woman nodded. "But as a side effect, it does not allow me to heal him easily. He is reacting badly to magic for healing. It might actually be making it worse."

"So leave him be," Thor waved his hand dismissively. "He will heal and be up in no time."

"Alva," Odin said quietly. "Your opinion?"

The woman didn't meet his eye, "Loki cannot heal himself properly while he is unconscious. He is not able to concentrate on the problem areas and instead he heals as a whole." She paused. "If this were any other Asgardian…I would tell you to say your goodbyes."

Thor's face contorted into rage, "This is Loki. He can heal anything. He's regrown bones, been crushed-"

"Leave." Odin's quiet voice cut Thor's rant short. The women merely bowed and quickly left the room.

"Father," Thor turned to look at Odin. "It's Loki. And this was not some enchanted blade, it is regular damage."

"I must get back," Odin frowned. For the first time in years, Thor was able to see the age of his father weighing down on him.

"He will be fine," Thor told his father.

Odin met Thor's gaze and immediately disappeared from view. Thor stood perfectly still as the image of his father's face stayed in his mind. Odin had already began to form tears for his fallen son.

* * *

"Okay, let me get this straight," Fury stood in front of the couch. He had bandages around the top of his head and his left arm was in a sling. "Thanos showed up and Loki joined his side."

"Correct," Clint nodded. He was now covered in several band-aids and his hands were wrapped in gauze.

"To which Loki says something that makes Thor realize that he's still on our side but he doesn't tell anyone else," Fury continued.

"Yep," Bruce held a bag of ice against his skull.

"But he was actually just getting the bastard worked up so he would use one of the gems because it was actually a portal?"

"That is correct," Stark was using a screw driver to try to remove the suit off of his hand. It had gotten smashed and now proved quite difficult to remove.

"So, Loki is actually on our side?" Fury sighed.

"Evidently," Natasha frowned at him. She had an arm in a sling as well as a large cut going down the left side of her face. It had scabbed over already. Actually she had healed quite quickly after she was hit by some of the flying debris.

Fury frowned slightly at her words and then looked down the hallway, "And Loki is gravely injured and Thor won't leave his side."

Steve nodded, "the nurse lady basically said to say good-bye." He leaned back into the couch. His uniform was torn in many places and still had his blood splattered on it.

* * *

Natasha stared down at her coffee. It had been a day since the battle. Tony was busy making repairs to the tower. It had remained out of the major part of the battle but it did get some crossfire. Fury was busy getting the SHIELD agents in to clean up the city. Thankfully most ships were destroyed midair so there was hardly and debris. But Loki and Thanos had demolished several of the buildings.

Natasha frowned as she thought about the god of mischief. She had seen Odin going into Loki's room. She noticed that he always looked much older when he left the room. Though Natasha had yet to see Thor leave Loki's room, not since he had moved his younger brother in there. Some of the Avengers had gone in there to speak with Thor or to see Loki, but Natasha had yet to venture in there.

"How is he?" Steve asked from next to her. Natasha looked up in surprise and then realized he wasn't talking to her. She looked over to see Thor heading for the fridge.

"He has not awaken," Thor said quietly. He looked down and sighed. "The Valkyries continuously pull at him…he has nearly followed them three times."

Natasha stared down at her coffee. _Three times. He has nearly died three times._ She blinked and tried not to think about how her heart had sped up and how her head was spinning.

"Who's in there with him now?" Steve asked.

"Father," Thor said quietly. "…he fears that Loki will not pull through."

"What do you think?" Steve asked.

Thor sighed, "I have seen worse damage on him, but never when he was unconscious."

* * *

The door slid quietly behind her. Natasha made her way into the room silently. She glanced over to see Thor sitting in a chair next to Loki's bed. He was leaning against his hand and appeared to be asleep. Natasha made her way closer to the bed and paused at the foot.

Loki had the blanket tucked in at his waist, his chest was bare. Burn marks were all over his left arm and part of his face, but had disappeared everywhere else. His head was wrapped in bandages and what hair could be seen looked burned.

Natasha went over to the other side of the bed. She looked down to see Loki's hand was bandaged. It was apparent that some of his fingers were missing.

"Lady Natasha," Thor said softly.

Natasha turned to see the sleepy Thor looking at her. "Still no change?" It had now been two days since Loki had been brought back to this room.

Thor shook his head, "none."

"He doesn't look as bad," Natasha eyed his skin.

"He is healing on the outside," Thor frowned. "He should be concentrating on the inside…Alva said he had many problems inside…"

"Why don't you take a break?" Natasha looked to the weary brother. "I can watch for a while."

Thor's eyes immediately narrowed, "Has Fury asked for you to remove my brother."

Natasha shook her head.

Thor's expression softened as he sighed. He then stood and stretched. "I will bathe and return shortly."

Natasha nodded and watched him leave the room. She sat on the edge of Loki's bed and eyed his damaged hand. She had seen many a person hold onto a loved one's hand as they waited for them to recover. She doubted it would help so she didn't bother.

* * *

Natasha entered Loki's room. It had been four days and Loki was barely clinging to life. She immediately was drawn to loud booming voices arguing. Odin and Thor were at it again. From the small bits she had heard the last few days she knew that Thor felt that Odin had given up. She could also tell that Odin was weary and could not bear to see his son in such a manner.

"I must return, Asgard needs its King," Odin told Thor simply.

"Loki needs his father," Thor frowned. "Asgard can wait."

"Asgard has waited," Odin frowned. "It cannot wait forever."

Thor's jaw tightened and Odin looked away. As soon as the Asgardians noticed she was there they moved to their native Norse tongue. Natasha yet again felt the need to learn the language. She made her way to Loki's right side where she had set a chair up the previous day. She knew a few of the Avengers had made their way to see Loki. Even Clint had come to see what had happened to the god, though she felt that was more out of curiosity than actual concern. Natasha noted a can of Red Bull and a bag of cotton candy on the nightstand and smiled; Tony must have visited.

She ignored the loud Norse on the other side of the room and placed her hands next to Loki's. She sighed and looked up to see that the others were not paying attention. She slid her hand closer and wrapped her fingers around Loki's bandaged hand. She looked to him and wished she could tell his dumbass to wake up without bringing attention to herself.

She had been making sure just to visit once a day. Yesterday she had nearly run into Fury as she had exited. He had stopped her and asked a progress report. Nothing was said about her previous antics with the god. This morning she had found a new cell phone on her dresser with a yellow post it note on it with her new password. Though she wasn't sure if it was because Fury believed she was never controlled or because he believed Loki would be dead soon and it didn't matter.

Natasha furrowed her brow and blinked. She could have sworn that Loki's eyes had moved. She frowned and shook it off as him dreaming. She glanced at the two Norse men. Looking back to Loki she noticed that his lashes were fluttering again. She swallowed against the lump in her throat. She looked to Thor and Odin. She wasn't sure if she should say anything. It might be nothing which would just send them further into an argument.

Natasha squeezed his hand and watched as his eyes opened a crack. They were completely unfocused but they were open. She caressed his hand with her thumb and his brow furrowed. He blinked a few times and turned to look at her.

"About time you woke up," Natasha smirked at him. She heard the loud argument immediately stop on the other side of the room.

Loki looked at her completely confused. His eyes moved around him slowly and then fell back on her. "Did we win?"

Natasha nodded.

"Thanos?" Loki asked.

"Thanos is gone."  
Loki let out a sigh of relief and his eyes became hooded.

Natasha frowned. She realized he was going back to sleep and she squeezed his hand again. "Loki! Wake Up!"

Loki's eyes darted back open and he blinked as he tried to focus on her.

"You are very injured," Natasha told him. "You need to fix it."

"Injured?" Loki blinked. He was losing consciousness fast. He saw the jagged red mark on her face and raised his hand up to it.

Natasha blinked in surprise at his action and then she felt her face tingle. "Not me!"

Loki frowned in confusion. _Who was injured?_ "Thor?" He looked around and saw his older brother and father looking at him.

Natasha shook her head and grabbed Loki's arm so he'd pay attention. "YOU!"

Loki turned to look at her.  
"The healers can't fix you because of your magic. Your ribs are broke, you have something ruptured, and you're missing a few fingers."

Loki blinked and his hand moved from her to his chest. He tried to use his magic to find what was wrong with himself but he was so tired. He sensed an infection where Thanos had jabbed his hand in him and a few ribs poking against his organs making it hard to heal. He focused on moving the ribs.

Natasha watched as Loki writhed in pain as he held his damaged hand over his chest. A few moments later his hand fell to his side and he was deep asleep. She looked over to Thor who quickly made his way to his brother's side.

"He is asleep," Thor frowned. "But I think he has healed himself some."

Odin nodded. He brushed a few hairs out of Loki's face.

Thor looked over to see Natasha's hand holding Loki's. He glanced to his father and noticed that the elder Asgardian did not seem to notice. Thor decided not to comment on it.

**Interesting fact: Loki's head has been chopped off in the Marvel universe. And yes, he healed himself. Been looking for an opportunity to throw that in somewhere. **

**I am not exactly happy what my next two chapters look like at the moment. They need to be fixed completely. So it may take a sec...but I also start my two bi-terms next week-so I am attempting to follow my own self-set deadline.**

**Yes, there's only two chapters left.**


	33. I Didn't Want You Dead

**I had to rewrite the whole chapter. I hope this turned out okay. I really did not like my first version. **

Natasha opened the door and Steve followed her into Loki's room. Thor yawned loudly and then spotted the two.

"He is asleep," Thor stated. The elder brother had been watching Loki like a hawk since he had woken up this morning.

Natasha headed for the other side of the bed anyway. She needed Loki to be awake. She needed answers.

Steve turned to Thor, "Jane called."

This caught the blond's attention. "Are they on their way back?"

Natasha ignored the other two men and flicked Loki's arm. He didn't move at all. She frowned and looked over the god. There had been little change in his outward appearance. She assumed that was a good sign. If he wasn't healing the outside then he was hopefully healing on the inside.

"He's talking again," Loki's raspy voice said quietly.  
Natasha couldn't help but grin. "He's worried about you."

Loki's eyes opened halfway. "..hasn't stopped talking."

"He was quiet when you were asleep." She glanced over to Thor. "Quick, pass out again."

Loki smiled at her.

"Feeling any better?" Natasha asked.

Loki nodded. "…skull is pounding."

"Your father is sending Alva here later to help with that now that you're awake," Natasha told him.

Loki just nodded and leaned further back into his pillow. She could tell he was still weak and his mind wasn't completely there.

Natasha frowned as she contemplated her next words. Maybe in his weakened state she could get a straight answer out of him. Or possibly nonsense. "Why did you do it?" The question that had been burning inside her for the past four days slipped out so easily.

Loki's brow furrowed and he looked at her in confusion.

"Why did you do it?" Natasha repeated, offering no further explanation.

Loki sighed and stared up at the ceiling. His head was still pounding and his thoughts were muddled. It was so hard to think…

Natasha waited patiently as Loki shifted through his own thoughts. She had noticed that Steve and Thor were waiting patiently for his answer as well.

"I…" Loki started and his face contorted into anger as he looked at her. "…wanted you dead."

Steve's brows rose and he felt his entire body tense. He glanced at Natasha but the woman didn't seem surprised at all. He glanced at Thor and noticed that the blond's eyebrows had rose considerably.

Loki sighed, "Then…I didn't want you dead."

Natasha frowned. "What changed your mind?"  
Loki frowned as he tried to remember. His thoughts were so hard to get through. "I didn't…like…the thought of you dead."

Natasha watched as he tried to think of his next thoughts.

"The spell only worked if he used that item." Loki frowned as he remembered his actions. "I knew he'd check the gauntlet-not each stone. Just had to keep him distracted."

Natasha frowned as she tried to process the facts. "You did it so I wouldn't be dead?" Natasha blinked.

Loki looked at her. That sounded about right.

"You saved the world for me?" She eyed the crazy god.

Loki shook his head. "No." He shook his head vehemently. Which did not help his thought process at all. "I did it for me. Because _**I**_ did not want you dead."

Natasha stared at the god who seemed to be confused at his own words.

Loki went over the words in his own head. He had taken on Thanos for his own reasons. Not for her. For him.

"I tried to shoot you."

Loki blinked. He glanced up at the agent who was staring him down. He tried to remember the incident.

"When Clint hit you with the arrow," Natasha reminded him.

Loki frowned and grumbled about worthless archers.

"I didn't though," Natasha fidgeted with her hands. She didn't dare look toward the other two men.

Loki tilted his head. His brain wasn't working at top speed but Natasha was not acting her usual self. "You tried."

Natasha shook her head, "If I had tried, you would have known it."

Loki eyed the woman.

"I didn't want you dead either." Natasha looked him in the eye as if daring him to say something.

Loki just stared back. His eyes were now piercing. His brain had picked up on what she was trying to say.

Natasha stood and left without saying another word.

* * *

Loki's eyes shot open.

Natasha smirked from his bedside. "How's the fingers?"

Loki groaned. "On fire." He held up his heavily bandaged hand. Thor and Tony had been scouring the city earlier for his fingers and had managed to find them. They were absolutely disgusting at this point but Loki had managed to reattach them. "But they will be fine."

"Good," Natasha fiddled with his stomach bandage.

Loki looked around the dark room. "Where is Thor?"  
"I made him go take a shower," Natasha told him. She pulled the bandage back slightly to look.

"Want to help me get one?" Loki grinned.

"I think you need to wait a little bit longer," Natasha smirked at the god. She patted the bandage back down but did not remove her hand.

Loki placed his hand on Natasha's and pushed it lower.

"No," Natasha shook her head but smiled. Her smile faltered when she saw Loki's face.

Loki lifted his bandaged hand and touched the now-clear gem hanging from her neck. "You wore it."

"Fury knows," Natasha sighed and didn't look Loki in the eye. "He thought you were controlling me and took away everything."  
Loki looked at her confused.

"Then you gave me this magical gem…"

Loki nearly chuckled when he realized what she meant. "I should have known."

Natasha leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Loki's hand moved into her hair and pulled her closer. She had missed this. His lips, his touch; it was absolutely intoxicating.

Loki pulled away suddenly, "Go away!"

Natasha blinked in surprise and then jerked backward to see Thor holding some of that smelly, meaty soup he had been force feeding Loki.

"I should go," Natasha pulled away.

"I didn't mean you," Loki reached for her.

Natasha smiled at him, "get some rest."

* * *

Natasha played on her phone as she laid on the couch. She had already packed for her next mission and was now just waiting around. Clint had already left early so he could meet his girlfriend before they moved out. Fury was waiting around too. He was sitting at the table while drinking coffee.

Tony sat next to him and was eyeing the balcony outside the pent house. He was waiting to see if any Asgardians were going to show up.

"You'd think we'd be invited to the party," Tony complained.

Selvig shook his head from the counter, "Asgardians don't care for us. Odin called Jane a goat and demanded her off of Midgard the second she got there."  
"It would be interesting to see it though," Bruce commented from behind the counter. "It's supposed to be beautiful."

"I just want to see their technology," Tony commented.

Natasha frowned, she wanted to see where Loki grew up. She would never voice that though.

The elevator dinged and opened. Thor and Loki came out chuckling about something as they carried bags. Jane and Darcy followed behind them.

"When will you be back?" Jane asked while trying to smile.

Thor turned and cupped her face, "as soon as I can."

Loki rolled his eyes and headed for Natasha. "Save me."

"You could help me with my next mission instead," Natasha smirked without looking up from her phone.

"Trust me," Loki sighed. "I would much prefer to do that than go back."

"Expecting a lot of problems when you get back?" Natasha looked up and saw the god didn't look all that happy to be going back.

"I was a criminal last time I was home, I honestly don't know what is worse: them welcoming me with joy or hatred." Loki sighed.

"You could play the guilt card on Sif," Natasha grinned and raised an eyebrow.

Loki nodded, "could work." He looked over to Thor who was hugging Jane.

Stark clapped Loki on the shoulder, "stop by sometime. Call first though."

Loki smirked at him.

"You planning on coming back soon?" Fury asked. He narrowed his good eye at the god.

Natasha looked to Loki. But Loki shook his head, "Doubtful."

"Brother," Thor nodded toward the balcony. "We should head back. The feast will be starting soon."

"Fun," Loki sighed. He glanced to Natasha.

"Try not to destroy anything," Natasha waved.

Loki smirked at her and followed his brother out to the balcony.

"Heimdall!" Thor shouted to the sky.

The two Asgardian's went up into the sky.

**If I do NOT post the next chapter by tomorrow morning, someone yell at me. I have to rewrite it but I should get it done tonight.**


	34. Just a Phase

**This is it: the final chapter. **

Natasha opened the door to the tiny apartment. She tossed her long red hair over her shoulder and began to pull off her jacket. She stopped by the heater and gave it a swift kick. For the third time that day, she cursed the heater. The agent was no longer accustomed to the Russian winters.

Natasha sighed and removed her jewelry. The man she was trailing liked women with gaudy jewelry which really did not do anything for her. Natasha set the jewelry on the dresser and picked up the clear crystal that hung on a golden strand.

She smiled as she put the necklace on. Her fingers stroked the colorless crystal and she thought about how it used to be filled with green swirls and red flecks. But that was over two years ago.

Natasha pulled her tall boots off and tossed them next to the dresser. She was now left in leather black pants and an extremely low cut red blouse. The idiot had nearly drooled on himself as he saw her.

Natasha pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent the remaining pictures to Fury. They included pictures of associates and the home of the man. Fury would contact her in the morning for more information.

Natasha headed for the tiny bathroom. She turned on the hot water as high as it would go. She looked into the mirror and played with her long straight hair. It was amazing how just changing the style could make a person look different. Especially if that person was not paying attention to someone's face.

She quickly removed her clothing. To get close she had to get intimate with the idiot. She was able to deal with such things. She would just shut her mind out to what was being done. It was the mission nothing more. Sex did not equate to more than just sex. But she preferred to be clean as soon as possible afterward.

She wriggled her toes in the hot water. It felt so good to be warm and toasty when it was cold outside. She reached up and absently played with the crystal around her neck.

* * *

Natasha made her way through the snow covered city. The diner Fury was meeting her at was located right off the main street. Natasha hoped that she had received enough information to be done with this mission. She was in sore need of a vacation.

The diner may have been off of the main street, but it was hardly busy. The agent glanced around and quickly spotted Fury; he was sitting near the back. He looked funny to her with the hat over his bald head. Though she knew he would probably freeze otherwise.

"Enjoying the weather," Natasha smirked as she sat down in front of the Director.

Fury gave her a dirty look and used largely gloved hands to pick up his coffee. "I think I would prefer tracking Banner down again."  
"I should tell him to go somewhere frozen next time he wanders off," Natasha turned to the waitress and ordered her food in Russian.

"The information you sent last night may be enough for us to proceed," Fury told her quietly. "I think your part in this mission is over."

"You need help extracting?" Natasha asked.

Fury shook his head, "Barton will be coming in. I need you to remove yourself from the picture without notice."

Natasha nodded. Becoming an overly clingy lover would easily do the trick. Then after the idiot rejected her, she would wander off and Barton would quickly remove him from existence. She would never be suspected for having a part in it.

"You will be starting your vacation after this?" Fury asked as her food was delivered.

Natasha nodded.

"Where will you be going?" Fury took a sip of his coffee. It was comical watching him maneuver the mug with those large gloves.

"Off to sail the Caribbean with my boyfriend," Natasha smirked at her own joke.

"Oh?" Fury asked. "I thought he was taking you to Asgard."

Natasha glanced up at the Director but did not say a word.

Fury eyed the agent and then sighed. "Thor stopped by when I was visiting with Selvig and Jane."

Natasha pursed her lips slightly.

"He seemed quite eager for Jane to visit while Odin is off in other realms. He also wanted to know if you were coming too." Fury eyed her. "He went on and on about how often his brother sneaks away to 'Midgard' to see his woman."

Natasha decided she was going to shoot the god of thunder the next time she saw him.

"I need a favor."

Natasha tiled her head and raised an eyebrow.

Fury pulled out a Manilla envelope and slid it across the table. "I need Loki to look at this. There have been several flare ups of magic that has been detected."

"Stark finally handed over the program?" Natasha asked but did not reach for the envelope.

Fury sighed, "Finally." He paused. "I need to know if these flare ups are something to be concerned about."

Natasha eyed the envelope and then looked up at Fury. "I doubt he will help."

"I am willing to…ignore…certain facts that I hear from Thor from time to time," Fury eyed her. "In exchange for help identifying magic from time to time."

The agent eyed him and the Director stared back.

Natasha pulled the envelope to her.

* * *

Natasha had tears running down her face as she sobbed. "Never again…" She sobbed in broken Russian about visiting her brother in America. The neighbors ignored her. She was some floozy of a woman who had obviously been dumped.

Natasha opened her apartment door and slammed it behind her as she let out a wail.

"Very convincing," Loki pushed her up against the wall.

Natasha grabbed his head and pulled him into a deep kiss; the tears completely forgotten. Loki grinded against her as his fingers slid between them to undo her pants. Meanwhile Natasha struggled to kick off her boots. About the time she managed to kick the second boot off, Loki had started to pull her pants down. He dragged the colorful panties down with them. As he bent down to pull the garments completely off of her, he lifted her leg and buried his face into her heat. It was a taste he could not get enough of.

Natasha moaned as that talented tongue slid inside her. It was so hot against the frigid cold of the apartment. Natasha's fingers ran through his hair. Loki nipped at her clit. Still holding her leg, Loki then pulled himself all the way upright. Natasha gripped the wall as Loki's free hand freed himself from his pants.

Natasha threw her head back as he thrust inside of her. It took several more thrusts until he was all the way inside of her. Natasha gripped his shoulders and wrapped both legs around his hips. As far as she was concerned, her body was his toy for the time being.

"Scream for me," Loki growled into her ear. She responded by biting it. She loved how he growled in her ears. And she knew he was aware of how much it affected her.

"Come for me!" Natasha ordered. She bit the crook of his neck. The god underneath her tensed up.

"Tasha," Loki threw back his head. He spilled himself inside of her.

Natasha let one of her legs slide down but she waited to support her entire body. They usually had a quickie when they first met up. It was generally followed by a thorough bout of sex later that night. She imagined it would keep her up all night considering it had been longer than usual since they had last seen each other.

Loki tended to pop up after a few days to a couple of weeks. This time he had waited three weeks. Usually it didn't bother her, but she found herself looking over her shoulder after two weeks had passed. It wasn't just the mind-blowing sex that she missed out on. She missed the nights full of food and talking as well.

Loki pulled away from Natasha. His breathing was starting to even out. He looked down when a Manilla envelope was thrust into his hands. He blinked in confusion. Natasha would bring envelopes like this into her residence all the time. Loki never bothered to look and Natasha had never handed one to him.

"Your brother is an idiot," Natasha said as she bent down to retrieve her garments.

Loki took a moment to enjoy the view before opening the envelope. He saw lights circled in red on photographs.

"It's magic, and Fury wants to know if he should be concerned," Natasha told him.

Loki frowned. Fury was recruiting him for help. He knew exactly what those bits of magic were but he wasn't liking the idea of Fury thinking he could just order him around.

"Thor thought Fury knew about us," Natasha leaned against the wall.

Loki sighed deeply and tried his best not to roll his eyes at his brother's stupidity.

"Fury is ignoring this if you are willing to help him from time to time," Natasha eyed the god. They had been 'together' for some time now, but to ask Loki to do something specifically to keep her around was pushing a new boundary.

"It's me," Loki frowned. "There are different ways to get to each realm. I have to take the long way around but this is where I tend to come out on Midgard." Loki handed the envelope back to Natasha.

"He's probably going to file that under 'threat.'" Natasha smirked. She pulled out a cell phone and began dialing.

"Are you still taking that 'vacay' thing?" Loki asked her.

"Romanoff," Natasha spoke into the phone, she looked over to Loki and nodded. "They are not a threat."

Loki raised a brow.

"He was able to identify it as your favorite Asgardian," Natasha smirked.

Loki couldn't help but smirk as well. He could almost picture the Director's face. Now that the Director was aware of his presence on Midgard, he may have to go irritate him every now and then.

He watched as Natasha spoke on the phone. He caught the fact that she was going on that 'vacay' immediately. This was good for him. His father had left this morning which meant he could take Natasha all over Asgard without a problem. There were many things he wanted to show her. The waterfalls he played behind as a child. The massive libraries. The mountaintop and hidden secrets of the caves.

It had been some time since Loki had acknowledged the fact that he liked her presence around him. More recently he had figured out that she was just a phase. Something that would passionately take over his life and then fade away. That was what this woman was to him.

It was best that she was nothing more than a phase. Asgardian phases lasted only a few decades, sometimes a century. When it came time for her to pass it would not hurt. He would be over her by then.

Natasha hung up the phone and smirked at him.

Loki grinned back as he hoped this was only a phase.

**And that's the end! I hope everyone enjoyed! It was really fun to write and try to get into the minds of Loki and Natasha. Eventually I will finish working on my Hikaru's Story. It is written in notebook-well most of it. I have two bi-terms that start NEXT WEEK! So the timing of that seriously depends on how many energy drinks i consume throughout the next two months. **

**Please review :D**

**Oh by the by, anybody wanting to do any fan art? I just saw that I could upload a picture for this particular story. If anyone wants to I will upload the best one and give credit :D**


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